Em Rooney

Em Rooney

BornNationalityBased In
1983N/ANew York City
Biography

Em Rooney combines sculpture and photography in her practice, which orbits ideas of queerness, intimacy, anti-capitalism and communion. Seeing photographs as “too frail” to stand alone, Rooney works with pewter, plaster and resin amongst other texturally weighty materials to craft individual frames, or “containers” as she labels them for each work. As an antidote to the constant stream of images we encounter through advertising, social media and other streams of technology, Rooney’s work affords each photograph a sense of stillness and care not readily gifted to contemporary images. The ‘container’ for each work draws out the tonal intricacies of the original image. Languid, rippled pewter frames may heighten the vulnerability of a particular subject, or encasing the image in neon resin will amplify the vitality of another. Since 2020, Rooney has begun producing sculptures without photographic elements, expanding the material parameters of her practice. These large-scale sculptures are brought to life with a plethora of materials such as steel, velvet, linen, wax, rice paper and yarn. Rooney cites the work of Ree Morton, Elizabeth Murray and Lee Bontecou as key influences in developing this sumptuous and tactile quality in her sculptures, yet this entwinement with materiality has run as a constant throughout her practice. ...

Selected Artworks
Tony and Marci Kissing Near the Schoharie River
Em Rooney
Tony and Marci Kissing Near the Schoharie River, 2020
25.4 x 34.29 x 2.54cm
Andromeda, Woman in Fiction
Em Rooney
Andromeda, Woman in Fiction, 2020
25.4 x 34.29 x 2.54cm
Words to the Heat of Deeds
Em Rooney
Words to the Heat of Deeds, 2020
213.36 x 147.32 x 33.02cm
Warm Violets on a Cold Urn
Em Rooney
Warm Violets on a Cold Urn, 2021
40.5 x 25.5cm
Carnival Scene in Lucricia Martel's La Cienega
Em Rooney
Carnival Scene in Lucricia Martel's La Cienega, 2020
25.4 x 34.29 x 2.54cm
My Hands by Asa
Em Rooney
My Hands by Asa, 2020
25.4 x 34.29 x 2.54cm
Jennie C. Jones at Her After Party
Em Rooney
Jennie C. Jones at Her After Party, 2020
25.4 x 34.29 x 2.54cm
Burned Fox-like in Spring
Em Rooney
Burned Fox-like in Spring, 2020
Queen of Cups
Em Rooney
Queen of Cups, 2020
213.36 x 81.28 x 40.64cm
She'll Close
Em Rooney
She'll Close, 2020
213.36 x 73.66 x 40.64cm
Poppy for Emi Wada
Em Rooney
Poppy for Emi Wada, 2020
213.36 x 127 x 30.48cm
Lady Macbeth
Em Rooney
Lady Macbeth, 2020
215.9 x 60.96 x 30.48cm
Wild Music, False Phrases
Em Rooney
Wild Music, False Phrases, 2020
16.5 x 23 x 2.5cm
A Sheet of Paper Between the Sun and the Moon
Em Rooney
A Sheet of Paper Between the Sun and the Moon, 2020
Rolls-Royce inspired, on Atlantic Avenue
Em Rooney
Rolls-Royce inspired, on Atlantic Avenue, 2023
30 x 38 x 4cm
Busted Mercedes NYC
Em Rooney
Busted Mercedes NYC, 2023
30 x 38 x 4cm
GirlCrush in La Cienaga
Em Rooney
GirlCrush in La Cienaga, 2023
30 x 38 x 4cm
Gallery Representation
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