Emma McIntyre (b. 1990) creates vivid abstractions imbued with chromatic and gestural energy. Instinctual yet deeply considered, her canvases explore painting’s material and alchemical possibilities. Employing oils and unconventional substances, she pairs chance-based, intuitive processes with a repertoire of motifs and compositional strategies gleaned from a close study of art history—reformulating these divergent threads into a fresh and unbridled mode of painting that is uniquely her own.
McIntyre was born in Auckland, New Zealand. After graduating from Auckland University of Technology in 2011, she received an MFA from Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland, in 2016 and a second MFA from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California, in 2021. In 2019 she received a Fulbright Graduate Award. McIntyre is a founding board member of the cooperative gallery Coastal Signs, Auckland.
