Emma Kohlmann: Zines, Watercolors and the Sexuality of Figurative Art

 

Greetings, art lovers, salutations, admirers of versatility…

You ever wondered what a zine is? It sure wonders about you.

“Zines are a powerful medium for self-expression, representing thriving subcultures and independent publishing driven by creativity and individuality. Zine-making is a labor of love, often produced by individuals or small groups—known as ‘zinesters’—reflecting passions and perspectives”…

Having learned the word, I’d like to talk about one of the subculture’s most outstanding representatives. A versatile and talented Emma Kohlmann, an artist who’s done it all, and is currently focused on creating with ink and watercolors. Her art was called “a contemporary feminine mythology”,  delicate emotions expressed through ink washes and watercolors. Subjects of study? Plants, butterflies, and birds, alongside enigmatic faces and figures. 

Residing and working from the state of Massachusetts, Kohlmann grew up in the Bronx, New York. She was a creative child, drawing and ballet dancing, considering to make ballet dancing her life-long career. And yet, after working with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the artist decided to change her trajectory and began attending Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was after the completion of her undergraduate education, when Kohlmann, with the help of her friends and acquaintances, started creating and publishing zines, naming Florence, MA, a place, known for its liberal ideas and activism, the main source of her inspiration and influence. Zine-making have given Emma the freedom to “think outside the box”. Self-publishing helped her keep a regimented schedule, and illustrating was one of the ways to stay in touch with her favorite artists. She’d dedicate each zine to a specific theme, using a wide range of materials, developing the initial ideas while working on the project. It brought her a community of the like-minded people, she felt comfortable to be around. Immensely important for a creative individual, is it not?

Kohlman, working with sumi ink for some time, struggled with a few aspects of color. There was fear and  uncertainty, and the artist doubted her own instincts when it came to color. But then there was a breakthrough, a sudden change of vision maybe, and she went from deep blacks and grays to blue to red, crimson red.  A major turning point. The artist kept developing “a narrative around the sexuality of her figures (fiery and in love)”. She used to express sadness by using black and gray to abstract the body - slate blue gave her the opportunity to “elongate and play with the figures like a landscape.” 

Now, let’s take a short break and reach back to the past, if only for a moment. To quote Henri Matisse:

“Color was not given to us in order that we should imitate Nature. It was given to us so that we can express our emotions.” 

I believe Kohlmann is on the right path. 

I was informed that she keeps experimenting with colors, producing a large volumes of work: making ten, twenty, or fifty watercolors a day. She has been creating album art for musicians, illustrations for publications (such as Vogue), and conducting her business through the markets for editions, artist books. And zines, of course…

The artist has exhibited at galleries in New York, Los Angeles, Portland, Athens, Tokyo, Copenhagen, as well as at The Portland Museum of Art and MOCA (Tucson, Arizona). I’d so love to visit one of them, wouldn’t you?