About
Emma Velde-Schaffer
Emma Velde graduated from the University of Canterbury with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1996, and completed a Master of Design at the University of Technology, Sydney in 1999.
For Velde, inspiration is bound by two primary parameters: the circle and the surface, both at the end from a very long transition from the landscape.
The Circle – The mandala and Wheel of Life that embraces all polygons and represents infinity, completion, the womb, the world, the universe. In Velde’s paintings the circle (or ellipse) frequently occurs in either the shaped canvas or as the main compositional motif of an otherwise abstract plain.
The Surface – The painterly surface is no less complex in Velde’s paintings in their delicate and lush layering of colour and texture that is both organic in outward growth, and resembles geological strata in terms of depth. This effortless complexity is reflected in the diversity of the media: ink, paint, water and gesso – each has its own liquid behaviours, densities and viscosities.
In Velde’s work, affinities can be detected with the poetic colour fields of Gretchen Albrecht, and the elaborately textured surfaces of Louise Fong. Here is a “decorative” sense that is capable of a rich, subtle formality. There also appears to be similarities to Robert Matta’s techniques – encouraging a certain amount of accident in the first few layers, with opaque paint deployed in simple chromatic chords. This results in a range of abstract surface types which seem to evoke haloes of light, undersea environments and coral reefs, galactic nebulae, mineral-rich volcanic pools, but most importantly a kind of meditative emotional inscape.
Exhibitions & Awards
October 2024 Finalist ILT MURIHIKU ART AWARDS 2024 Presented by Invercargill Public Art Gallery and the Southland Art Society
October 2024 Eastside Spring Show, Linwood Arts Eastside Gallery, group show
September 2024 Tenderly Yesterday, Stoddart Cottage Gallery, Christchurch, Solo Show
June 2024 To the Sea and Back, ArtHole Christchurch, Solo Show
May 2024 Open Themed Show, New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, group show
March 2024 Finalist, NZ Painting and Printmaking Award. Waikato Society of Arts
From 2023 Continued exposure at Little River Gallery
August 2023 Eastside Spring Show, Linwood Arts Eastside Gallery, one of four artists
March 2023 Brilliant Vibrant Women, Linwood Arts Eastside Gallery, group show
August 2022 Spring Show, New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, group show
August 2019 SCAPE Women in Art Fundraising Exhibition, Christchurch, group fundraiser
August 2018 SCAPE Women in Art Fundraising Exhibition, Christchurch, group fundraiser
May 2006 Two by Seven, Dobson Bashford Gallery, group show
September 2005 Christchurch Art Gallery Annual Art Event Fundraiser, group fundraiser
March 2005 WATERtight, Dobson Bashford Gallery, Christchurch, Solo Show
May 2004 Full CIRCLE, Article Design Gallery, Christchurch Solo Show
February 2004 Shore Dwellers, Article Design Gallery, Christchurch, group show
November 2002 Leave to Return, Dobson Bashford Gallery, Christchurch, Solo Show
May 2002 Eclipses, the Vault Design Gallery, Christchurch, group show
May 1999 Blinker, the High Street Project, Christchurch, video installation of ‘Sight-seeing’ thesis project
October 1997 Glimpse, the High Street Project, Christchurch, with D McCormick
October 1996 Poke, the High Street Project, Christchurch, with M Mahailovich