Portfolio — Emma Petras

Emma Petras is a dedicated artist whose practice focuses on the importance of material and process. Having multiple avenues as a creative allows Petras to conduct thorough investigations of various subjects that inform their art and ideas. Their sculpture practice is central to their work and ranges from woodworking and foundry processes to acrylic glass and metal fabrication, with a special interest in wax and masonry. In their two-dimensional works, Petras is passionate about screen-printing and painting. With an interest in both 2D and 3D work, Petras aims to dismantle intangible constructs and ideas through the exploration of tangible media.

Petras incorporates photographic practices into their daily life, dedicated to documenting the physical objects, textures, and living beings that exist in tandem. With an emphasis on sculpture, Petras places great significance on the physicality of these photographic images that host proof of interaction. This work translates directly into Petras’ acrylic glass constructions by means of screen-printing. Their use of light, color, and pigment breaks down the object into dots of a silkscreen with the hope of re-framing the universal symbolism of these objects and uncovering familiar projections they may hold from viewers.