Emily Pettigrew

Emily Pettigrew’s practice, rooted in the Catskill Mountains of New York State, distills the presence of time into quietly charged scenes. Working in flat layers of acrylic, she sets deep, muted hues against abrupt planes of white, cultivating an atmosphere of subtle tension. As she notes, “A push-pull of serenity and quietness with a sense of deeper unease or mystery is a dynamic that defines my work.” Her often-cropped compositions withhold narrative closure, fostering a disorientation that draws the viewer in. The result is the sensation of being an unseen witness to moments at once ordinary and quietly clandestine.

Born in 1998 in Blue Hill, Pettigrew graduated with a BFA degree from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. In 2018, she participated in a two-week residency at the Cill Rialaig Retreat in Ireland. She earned second prize in the Artrepreneur Home competition in 2020, and in 2021, she received a grant from the Roxbury Arts Group through the New York State Arts Council. That same year, her solo exhibition Too Pure for this World was held at the Historic Hunting Tavern Museum, New York. Most recently, her work has been presented in a solo exhibition, Emily Pettigrew – Painting in the Catskills 2021-2025,  at the Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown. Pettigrew’s work has been included in group exhibitions in leading institutions including the Kunstmuseum Schloss Derneburg, the Art Museum of South Texas and the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center. Her work is part of the permanent collection of the Hall Art Foundation, in Vermont. Pettigrew currently lives and works in the Catskill Mountains, New York.