Emma Balder’s solo exhibition, Good Evening, Morning Star, is a product of welcoming the darkness, knowing that light will glisten towards the dawn of a new day. This collection of fiber paintings and sculptural paintings unearth gems found within hardship. Each work examines the natural order of life through captured mementos; death of loved ones, discovering community, or realigning a failing body. The works soften the boundaries between nature and humanity. Balder uses process to understand the natural world’s teachings, its constant change, interconnection, and regenerative abilities. Through gentleness with material, repurposing parts of paintings and textile remnants via hand sewing and painting with fibers, Balder repairs what is deemed broken. Seeking equilibrium in the collective parts, her materials collaborate towards a shared goal of renewal. A goal of light and new life. The works both comfort and confront trying moments, mending fragments to illuminate what was once at the edge of darkness. At its core, Good Evening, Morning Star welcomes what it means to be human.
Emma Balder received a BFA in Painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design. She has exhibited with venues such as Trestle Gallery, Torpedo Factory Art Center, 500X Gallery, Heidi Vaughan Fine Art, Aqua Art Fair, Meow Wolf, Gutstein Gallery, Lawndale Art Center among others. The artist was awarded a one-year Residency at the Vermont Studio Center in 2015 and received a 2020 grant from the Houston Arts Alliance. Her work has been written about in the Houston Chronicle, Art Maze Magazine, Denver Life Magazine, 303 Magazine, Emboss Magazine, Peripheral Vision Press, Create Magazine, Artifactoid and more. Balder has facilitated fiber painting workshops throughout Colorado, including at the MCA Denver. She has collaborated with companies such as Meow Wolf, Sweetgreen and PepsiCo’s LIFEWTR. Good Evening, Morning Star marks her eighth solo exhibition.
