Salvatore Emblema

The solo exhibition of the Italian artist Salvatore Emblema showcases the work born out of his ongoing and rigorous research into light, where he uses transparency as a means to reshape the boundaries of painting. Spanning four decades of his artistic career, the exhibition demonstrates the influence of landscape on the material composition and conceptual foundations of his work, as well as his evolving exploration of site, materiality, and surface.

Treating the canvas surface as a site of activity, transformation, and emergence, he initially worked on burlap and raw jute canvases, materials he initially used for economic reasons but soon came to appreciate for their inherent qualities on which he would glue torn leaves in place of expensive pigments. As his work progressed, he began to saturate fabrics with natural pigments extracted from the surrounding landscape. The transparency of these supports facilitated his artistic exploration, allowing for a unique interaction between pigment and light, an interface where matter and luminosity converge into images.

This deconstruction of the surface marks the artist’s deeper engagement with the space beyond the canvas. Both stand-alone works and preparatory models for later paintings, these interventions often take the form of large metal meshes coated with organic pigments, usually red, blue, or white, through which natural light can filter. In contrast to the austere formal logic of Minimalism’s preference for grids, his installations focus on exploring the possibilities of porous, light-transmitting frames, as well as the concept of open structures.

Thanks for the invitation. 

Salvatore Emblema
Date: 28 May – 5 Jul 2025
Gallery: @whitecube
Address: 50 Connaught Road Central, Hong Kong
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