Emma Webster

Emma Webster is an American-British artist who was raised in California, in what she describes as an “idyllic landscape”. 

Both of her grandfathers were painters. Webster describes their works as ‘a bit wonky’ which made them ‘very approachable’ and gave her the confidence to make her own art.

She attended the Slade School of Fine Art in London during the summer of 2009. She the went on to earn a B.A. in Art Practice from Stanford University in 2011 and an M.F.A. in Painting at Yale in 2018.

Webster said that she was inspired by the works of Hudson River School painter Frederic Church (1826-1900). “Church to me was insatiable. He really wanted to see the world.” Webster said, “He understood that looking was the primary demand of an artist.”

Webster initially creates her works using 3D VR images which she then completes in a variety of medium.

“I spend a lot of time in drawing and visualizing images in VR space based on imagery collected through sketches and gradually converging them into a single work of art through constructing dioramas” she said in an interview in Tokion. “Blender also involves lighting design. In film and theater, light can give meaning to darkness and create a particular mood to develop a story. Having been involved in stage design myself, I reflect on the effects of lighting on the viewer’s sensitivity and use this in creating my work.”

She has received numerous awards, including a Jericho Fellowship in Venice in 2022 and had a solo exhibit at Perrotin in Paris in 2024. Her works have been included in both solo and group exhibitions in Tokyo, Belgium, London, Leipzig, Miami, New York, Los Angeles and other major cities.

Emma Webster lives and works in Los Angeles.