Nat Emons
he/they
Sherwood, AR, USA
Nat Emons a 1990s-born artist from the East Coast, now in Little Rock, AR. Their diverse background, including Marine Corps service, mixology in Atlanta, and extensive travel, informs their art.
“My art reflects authenticity amid superficiality, using alternative materials and repurposed items. I create textured color fields blending rawness and optimism, exploring mark-making techniques for dynamic voids. Colors collide, forming emotional peaks and valleys beyond words. Each piece delves into experience, energy, and emotion, defining space's essence. It expresses my black, queer identity and transcends language, inviting contemplation of existence's multiplicity.”
"Silver linings - brooch", Onyx, sterling silver, copper, brass, nickel silver, 3" x 1.5", 2023
What does being queer mean to you in relation to your material choices? Is it something you consider?
“Honestly, my work speaks for me as a person. It draws from each part of me—my queerness definitely plays a role and informs my practice, but it's just as intertwined with my blackness and my experiences."
"Silver linings - blank ring", Nickel silver, copper, brass, 3.5" x .5" x.75’’, 2023
“The work is queer because I am queer, just as it is black because I am black. My work is a reflection of my existence, an imprint of the space I occupy in the universe."
Is the work queer because the maker is queer, or is it queer because the subject matter is queer?
"Silver linings - malachite ring", Malachite, copper, brass, .75" x .75" x .75’’, 2023