Emily Slade: Vivid Apparitions

Posted by: – May 15, 2009

Emily Slade (aka Mushroomish) is a Detroit grown artist, but recent Richmond transplant. When standing before one of her many large and bold paintings, it becomes apparent that she's inspired and consumed by the world of science fiction, horror films, and crumbling paperback pulp adventure novels. Her work is designed with both strong aesthetic and dramatic qualities in mind, yet proudly embraces unusual topics such as overstimulation, unjustified aggression, and auto-cannibalism. Splashes of intense and mood altering colors swirling around dripping, writhing tentacled monsters are the bread and butter of her lively collections of painted works.

Self-taught in both acrylic painting and sculpture, Emily has created a world around herself filled to the brim with the creatures of a seemingly tormented Crayola brand imagination. Whether it be a glowing sea foam octopus happily pulling itself into pieces against a blissful ephemeral background, or a detailed landscape of traveling astronauts befalling horrible, uncomfortable fates; her work always tells the story of something strangely familiar happening before us that we do not quite grasp the whole of. Viewing these works tells the story of an artist still very much in awe of the fantastic and uncharted world around (or within) her, and her bright, energetic, and highly stylized images loudly invite us all to join in on this wild ride.