Every fall for the past 22 years, Southwest Art magazine has published a showcase of young artists.
As the title “21 Under 31” suggests, this is not a comprehensive guide, but a carefully curated guide.
“Editors work with art galleries, art schools, ateliers, workshop instructors, and many other sources to find candidates for this feature,” read the input instructions. “We are also accepting submissions.”
One of those submissions was recently from 29-year-old artist Emma Kalff. Emma Kalff is a plein air painter who works in Oil and lives in Ridgway. She is not from Ridgeway, Calf. She stumbled upon the region during her artistic journey, which she dubbed ‘Finding America’.
At this point, you may be wondering (as this reporter was).
“The idea was to step away from the filters of popular culture and get a sense of myself about the states of America and paint wherever I’ve been and where I’ve traveled,” Kalf explained. Anyone who wants to stay safe while traveling, especially if you’re a young woman and a more vulnerable person than the opposite sex.
And if your plans are to continue the journey not just for a few months, but for two years, even in a sunny summer.
But Kalf, a classically trained painter who grew up in Westchester, Pennsylvania and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in New Orleans, had a strategy.
“I worked on a farm,” she explained bluntly. “There is a program called WWOOF, which stands for Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms. The program has a map of all the organic farms in the world, and in exchange for three meals a day and hours of work, sleep. provides a place.
“For the most part it was a really good program and the people were friendly,” she said. “Thus I supported the journey, learned a lot about organic farming, and created a series of works.”
Guided by wwoof.net’s map, Calf found stable employment, room and board, and artistic inspiration in states such as Florida, Arkansas, South Dakota, Georgia, Arizona, and California. Kalf explained that she first arrived at Ridgeway on a tip from a friend of hers who “knew someone I could couchsurf with.” At the end of her journey, in 2020, she “returned”.
Kalf was never intimidated by rural America.
“I found it easy to meet people,” she said. “They generally take care of each other in a slightly different way than I’ve experienced.” Growing up in the shadow of a big city. “It encourages people to care about each other. The continuation of our travels has allowed us to get a lot of work done,” she added.
The next step was to be seen. After returning to Ridgeway, she exhibited at her local art show in Telluride. Telluride Arts executive her director Kate Jones happened to “tell me that I should have a solo show,” she says Kalff.
The result was a solo exhibition, Finding America, at Telluride Arts HQ two years ago.
“That show really got the ball rolling for me,” Kalf said. rice field. I had to do it for my opening.
Since the exhibition, Kalff has continued to paint and work to cover the costs. Most recently, he worked for Horizon Maintenance, a landscaping company in Ridgeway. She met her fellow oil painter. My colleague’s room is with him,” Kalf explained. “Having a physical space to paint meant everything. was applied.”
Mixing tranquil landscapes and figures, Kalf’s work is drawn from life but evoked by dreams. Individual faces are not seen in these paintings. Human gestures, colors and settings are enough. “Personal identity is not so important to me,” she explained. “Telling the wider story, and the people themselves, are iconic in these dreamscapes.”
Kalff has been assisted in her artistic journey through online courses at professionalartist.com.
“It really helped me,” she said. “I paid a flat fee and received access to tons of modules, legal resources and templates on how to contact the gallery. You have to advertise yourself.”
During this course, Kalf learned about Southwest Art’s 21 Under 31. She applied in May and was featured in the magazine’s September 2022 issue. After layering in the garage,” the painting was completed at Ridgeway.
Kalhu left the desert after spending a spooky night outside the Mexican Hat.
“It was pretty ghostly, and I was scared,” she said, but she painted a 12-inch by 12-inch tree in oil, entitled “The Boogeyman Is Real.”
This painting was recently purchased by a Telluride local.
Subscribe to emmakalff.com/email-newsletter to follow Emma Kalff’s work.
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