The long-armed embrace offered by the central figure says it all in this acrylic on canvas painting by Emma Kohlmann at Jack Hanley Gallery on the Lower East Side. Kohlmann explains that viewers who venture out to galleries during the pandemic should encounter an oasis, or a place to be distracted from turbulent times. Caring couples, harmonious relationships between humans and nature, and references to Matisse’s colorful painting abound in a show that will take the mind to happy places. (On view through Nov 14th).
Emma Kohlmann, When I Found My People, Acrylic on raw canvas, 60 x 60 inches, 2020.
Merrily Kerr is an art critic and writer based in New York. For more than 20 years, Merrily has published in international art magazines including Time Out New York, Art on Paper, Flash Art, Art Asia Pacific, Art Review, and Tema Celeste in addition to writing catalogue essays and guest lecturing. Merrily teaches art appreciation at Marymount Manhattan College and has taught for Cooper Union Continuing Education.
For more than a decade Merrily has crafted personalized tours of cultural discovery in New York's galleries and museums for individuals and groups, including corporate tours, collectors, artists, advertising agencies, and student groups from Texas Woman's University, Parsons School of Design, Chicago's Moody Institute, Cooper Union Continuing Education, Hunter College Continuing Education and other institutions. Merrily's tours have been featured in The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Sydney Morning Herald and Philadelphia Magazine.
Merrily is licensed by New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs as a tour guide and is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA USA)
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