Emily Tyman is a painter and printmaker who lives and works in the Finger Lakes region of New York. She completed her MFA at the State University of New York at New Paltz, concentrating in Painting and Drawing. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art and Art History from the University of Rochester in 2018. Also in 2018, she was a resident artist at the Yards Collective in Rochester, NY and completed a residency at Main Street Arts in Clifton Springs, NY. She exhibited in a solo exhibition at the Dove Block Project in Geneva, NY in 2023. She has also exhibited work at Hartnett Gallery at the University of Rochester; Womenswork.art in Poughkeepsie, NY; Main Street Arts in Clifton Springs, NY, and the Samuel Dorsky museum of Art on the SUNY New Paltz campus. Currently, she is an adjunct professor teaching painting classes at the University of Rochester.

Statement:

I am exploring the anxieties that I carry with me, my need to be comforted, and finding a home within myself. I focus on what I reach for to provide myself with a sense of security and cope with memories of my painful experiences. The embrace of a stuffed animal, the shelter of a bedroom, and the love for a pet provide safety from an overwhelming force of anxiety, which I represent as a swarm of wasps. All my memories and feelings are housed within me, and I can teach myself how to be comfortable with being my own home and fondly looking at my past.  

My work is about finding peace in one’s life and within relationships, whether it is with friends, family, partners, or even with yourself. I aim to connect to the lonely, the defeated, and the ever-hopeful romantic. I take inspiration from my own memories and relationships that have begun, ended, and continued, that I hold near and dear to me. They encompass the feeling of heartbreak, being vulnerable, and knowing that sometimes something truly special in your life is only supposed to exist for a moment in time. But how wonderful and exciting that the possibility of something entirely new is on the horizon.