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Next Big Thing: Emily Furr

Air ducts, rocket heads, and buzz saw blades colonize the highly sought-after new painter’s sharp-edged compositions

By Galerie editors
Red geometric shape impaled by long black nails on a bold red background, creating a striking visual contrast.
Emily Furr, Pierced Ruby, 2022. Photo: Nicholas Knight, courtesy of the artist and Sargent’s Daughters

Air ducts, rocket heads, and buzz saw blades colonize Emily Furr’s sharp-edged compositions, packing a Pop Art punch that makes her a highly sought-after new painter. After a decade in graphic design, Furr, who was born in St. Louis, found her voice blending machinery, celestial starscapes, and a Caravaggio palette with a decidedly feminist bent. 

Person standing in an office wearing a black outfit, with a lamp and desk in the background.
Emily Furr. Photo: Nicholas Knight, courtesy of the artist and Sargent’s Daughters

Subject matter: “Some of my work looks like a twisted advertisement for war. Obviously, I’m not pro war, but rather I’m showing these happy missiles and cannons trying to shoot at planets because I want to show the ridiculousness of war and the ridiculousness of polluting the planet.”

A surreal painting of a missile with a red nose headed towards the moon against a yellow background.
Emily Furr, Apollo 69, 2022. Photo: Nicholas Knight, courtesy of the artist and Sargent’s Daughters

“Emily has found a unique vocabulary that focuses on the tension between the natural and supernatural, industrialism and humanity, masculine and feminine. The resemblance to political propaganda posters is as deliberate as the careful balance of dichotomies”

Debi Wisch

Painting of large nails piercing a red geometric shape against a red background.
Emily Furr, Pierced Ruby, 2022. Photo: Nicholas Knight, courtesy of the artist and Sargent’s Daughters

Up next: A group show at the opening of the L.A. location of Sargent’s Daughters this winter; come April, a solo exhibition with gallery 12.26 in Dallas. 

Abstract painting with three blue panels depicting a starry sky, bordered by three red spiked poles on a dark background.
Emily Furr, Conquer the Stars, (2022). Photo: Nicholas Knight, courtesy of the artist and Sargent’s Daughters

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2022 Winter Issue under the headline “Next Big Things.” Subscribe to the magazine.

Click here to see the full list of “Next Big Things.”