Her paintings are packed in a big crate in her studio and are about to start their long journey to the USA tomorrow
...now Emma just has to fit her dresses into her suitcase!
THROUGH THE KEYHOLE
t is a well known fact that Emma Tooth is generally something of a recluse, but recently she opened her doors to The Derbyshire Magazine to allow them a glimpse into her beloved home. The spectacular 5-page article complete with beautiful photography by Kate Burnett appears in the November 2011 issue out now!
Since she gave an interview with the glossy local lifestyle magazine around 2008/9, the magazine have been persuing her for an article not just about her paintings but about her home itself; a treasure-trove, a sumptuous little nest which few people have had the privelage of exploring.
For those of you not able to get hold of a copy an abbreviated online version is available here, peppered as usual with those charming little innacuracies mis-quotes that so effectively make one sound mad as a hatter : ) but it's a great article!
As well as this article, lots of new photographs and interviews have been added to the scrapbook section here too so do check them out!
INTERVIEW AND NEW WORK
f you have ever wondered what Emma Tooth thinks about French street theatre, the art world and life in general, the answers are all to be found in her recent interview for Creative Spotlights!
Emma with some of her new work at The Biscuit Factory Gallery
Also, her show at The BIscuit Factory is now open and Emma was in Newcastle yesterday for the opening as well as to meet up with BBoy Raw B aka Robby Graham, whom she last met when he danced with his team Bad Taste Cru at her Concilium Plebis show in 2009 (scroll down for more info on these guys!). There's a great video here where Robby talks about their collaboration.
We are delighted to announce that they will be collaborating again; this time on Emma's forthcoming painting, The Captive, commissioned by Derby Museum and Art Gallery for their permanent collection.
As you can see below, the shoot was just exhausting as well as a lot of fun - and Emma couldn't resist grabbing an (empty) beer bottle and joining in on the modelling!
LEARN TO PAINT WITH EMMA!
here are fewer and fewer places where onecan learn to paint these days - really learn to paint - and from an artist who combines the ability to paint with the great advantage of being alive and accessible too. One such rare opportunity is coming up this November at Derbyshire Arts.
Emma will be demonstrating and discussing her work and leading a hands-on workshop on 15-17 November 2011 where you can paint under her guidance and hopefully pick up lots of tips as well as have a good time. Her classes are very informal and she's always prepared to take questions and share her experiences with her classes, some of whom are regulars and just can't get enough of Emma and her art!
The November session is almost fully booked but there are still some places left, Please email Sue Barber at Pear Tree Farm or give her a call on (+44 (0)1629 534 215) for more details and to book you place!
Until then, please enjoy 2 new photosets of Emma in new costumes she has created between paintings. Firstly a set taken in Stormy Weather, and secondly a set taken alongside her accomplice, the notorious Lady Clarice.
Enjoy!
HEREDITY SHOW OPENS IN THE UK
mma's long-awaited new show HEREDITY premieres this week in Newcastle. The private view is on thursday 30th June 6-9pm and the show runs until July 30th.
The new work consists of paintings and drawings inspired by Emma's own family history, old photographs and musty ephemera. Highlights include an impressive portrait of Emma's paternal grandmother, the Queen Bee (below) and the incredibly time-ravaged features of her maternal grandfather, The Man With The Fish In His Eyes (also pictured below). Read more at the HEREDITY site.
he awesome Bboy/ Breakdance team, Bad Taste Cru, who worked with Emma at her Customs House exhibition are now touring.
Emma Tooth with Bad Taste Cru dancer, Raw B
They created a piece called Council Of The Ordinary based on Emma's Concilium Plebis paintings and performed it on the opening night of her show. Their astonishing performance appears in full on Emma's DVD, Extraordinary Portrait of Ordinary People and has since appeared at Breakin Convention London, San Francisco Hip Hop Festival, and in Trafalgar Square Arts Festival.
The show was so successful in pushing the bounadries of what breakdance can do, Bad Taste Cru were commissioned by street arts consortium Without Walls to develop a sequel: Tribal Assembly (Comitia Tributa). It is thought that this will grow eventually to form a trilogy of dance pieces, each featuring the same archetypal British street characters originally inspired by Emma Tooth's paintings.
Part of what is so exciting about the Tribal Assembly performances is the way that they begin with just one dancer (but with other members of the team hidden amongst the crowd watching) and then as the dance progresses, other apparently ordinary, passive members of the audience step up and join in unexpectedly - watch for the man in a black suit in the audience in this clip:
"On the surface, it would appear as though Bad Taste’s piece, Tribal Assembly, were a conventional bboy show... a straightforward narrative supported by four stereotyped characters. In this case the four characters seem to belong to four distinct “tribes”: A chav, a businessman, a homeless man and a rocker.
As the show unfolds it becomes clear that this piece is anything but conventional. The show revolves around the power struggle and relationships between the four characters. The homeless man, played by Darren “Jelly” O’Kane, is portrayed as weak and of low social status. His character however has nothing to lose. He is free and this is reflected in his movements. Taking us through an intricate set of effortless threads and backrock variations Jelly rarely completes recognisable moves and transitions, emphasising the character’s freedom. Even to the untrained eye however, there is purpose. The structure and flow of his movements show that he certainly isn’t “just rolling around on the floor”. His solo ends with rapturous applause from the audience.
The chav character played by Rokas “Ruckus” Šaltenis begins aggressively. His intimidating toprock aimed at Jelly’s character is punctuated with powerful transitions between power moves, flips and air freezes. As Paul “P” Martin’s cocky businessman enters the frame a power struggle ensues, asking the audience to reconsider the roles of these “tribes” in society. A heavy metal rocker played by Robby “RawB” Graham carries off a powerful performance, not only in his effortless flips and power combinations but also through the emotion conveyed in his dancing. This emotional element is what makes Tribal Assembly truly unique amongst bboy shows. There is no typical linear narrative. The relationship between the characters is what keeps the viewers engaged. We are not dealing with simple binary oppositions such as power vs style, weak vs strong, poor vs rich. The show goes beyond what has previously been done and whilst Bad Taste Cru have taken a risk in drawing influences from contemporary dance, it has certainly paid off. "
MUSEUM TO COMMISSION A NEW PAINTING FOR THEIR COLLECTION
t has been announced that as part of their Joseph Wright Festival and his 275th birthday celebrations and as part of the "Cultural Olympiad" in 2012, Derby Museum and Art Gallery are to commission a new painting by Emma Tooth for their permanent collection, to be unveiled alongside their newly-refurbished Joseph Wright gallery.
Following her dual exhibition with Joseph Wright in 2010 the Museum are very keen to add a piece of Emma's work to their collection, which is anticipated to be something along the lines of her Concilium Plebis work, but responding specifically to the Museum's world-class Wright collection. More info to follow...
NEW PHOTOS
ere's a lovely shiny-newphotoset.Britain is so beautiful this time of year...
Also, there's a new interview just up ateyezinegiving us a little peek into Emma's world!
MORECAMBE WINTER GARDENS
hile things have been a little quiet round here recently as Emma prepares her new body of work entitled HEREDITY, contrary to popular belief we have not been idle. Certainly not. May we present to you both as proof of our industriousness and for your delectation a beautiful new set of photographs shot on location at the magical Morecambe Winter Gardens, a collaboration between Emma and Owen Tooth.
The Winter Gardens derelict theatre is said to be haunted and may even posess it's very own portal in the basement. They even host regular ghost walks for individuals and TV shows with a taste for the macabre, but Emma reports that she felt extremely welcome there and right at home and even said that she felt the old theatre was pleased to see a lady in a ball gown again after so many lonely decades.
hile we are in surreal mood, in an unexpected turn that smacks of a certain Red Dwarf episode, Emma's work has apparently provided inspiration for the setting up of a church!
No, it's true! "Seeing this exhibition [Concilium Plebis] at the Biscuit Factory in Newcastle upon Tyne last summer provided Ray with the missing link for the birth of Codia Church." the Codia Church website states!
news 2010>
WINTER WONDERLAND
ere are some cute photos of Emma playing in the snow near her studio in Derbyshire where the snow is a foot thick this week! Just for fun.
FROM PIG FARMERS AND SHOWGIRLS - THE BOOK!
t last, the new limited edition book of Emma Tooth's artwork, photgraphy and writing which she has been slaving over just for you is now available from the Lazarides Shop!
e now have photos of the Thinkspace 5 Years Anniversary group show, for those of you who weren't able to get to see Emma's work in the USA.
CONCILIUM PLEBIS @ LAZARIDES Concilium Plebis @ Lazaride
5th November - 26th November 2010
private view 4th Nov 6-9pm
The Dungeon of The Outsiders Gallery
8 Greek Street, Soho, London W1D 4DG
mma Tooth's first solo show with the infamous Lazarides Gallery is upon us! This is anticipated to be the climax of the Concilium Plebis tour and a last chance to see many of the paintings as well as some brand new pieces...
Emma will joined by costume artist The Wicked Lady, who has created a number of new works reinterpreting the themes of Concilium Plebis - and even reinterpreting Emma Tooth herself!
Thinkspace gallery of California invited Emma to be part of the sparkling lineup for their 5 year anniversary show, featuring "works from 48 artists that have helped to shape our past, present and future".
The show opens just 2 days after Emma's solo show opens in London - which goes some way to explaining why she can't attened the opening party in person - but her paintings will be there representing her across the Atlantic!
HEAD TO HEAD WITH 18TH CENTURY MASTER JOSEPH WRIGHT
t last Emma's duel dual show with world famous 18th century master artist Joseph Wright of Derby draws near. See behind the scenes here!
Derby City Museum and Art Gallery are hosting this very special event which will see the work of these two artists painting the real people of the industrial city more than two centuries apart, with a special performance on the opening night by dance team Trinity Warriors.
With the curators at the Museum, Emma has had the opportunity to delve into the Museum's archives for material for the show which will be presented mixed in with her own successful series of paintings, Concilium Plebis which promises to be a unique experience.
July 3rd - September 12th 2010
Opening night July 2nd 2010 5-7pm
And to coincide with this special event, ARRESTED MOTION and HI FRUCTOSE are running articles full of brand new photos of Emma in the studio with her disreputably filthy palette.
To add to the festivities two more artists, the lovely Ryan Gordon and Sally Jane Thompson have created cute new portraits of the portrait painter herself for our delectation. Enjoy!
By Ryan Gordon
By Sally Jane Thompson
NEW WORK COMMISSIONED FOR BRAND NEW LIBRARIES
wo new libraries in Chellaston and Mackworth, Derbyshire now boast their own large-scale oil paintings. Emma met with members of the public who were likely to be using the new libraries and used them as her models. The paintings needed to show that the library welcomed people of all ages and that a number of media were available there - not just books. Additionally, Emma wanted to get across the idea of inter-generational learning and information being passed between people. The paintings were funded by The Big Lottery Grant,
Created by the amazing film production company, Toothpix Ltd and with music from David Beard it is a sumptuous affair with new footage of the paintings actually being created and amazing breakdance performances from B-boy champions, Bad Taste Cru as well as detailed interviews with Emma about her work. Watch it now!
(above:) A still from the film... not your average documentary then...
CONCILIUM PLEBIS OPENS AT THE CUSTOMS HOUSE
t was an absolutely electric night with many guests and surprises.
Best of all, a Break Intervention by Bad Taste Cru, the award-winning
Irish BBoy team who amazed the audience with their superhuman abilities!
Around 150 people attended and several thousand are expected to visit the exhibition!
Photographer Craig Leng took some amazing photographs and we are pleased to say that the entire night is the subject of a documentary film which captures the magic
of the show and it will be appearing here soon! CLICK FOR MORE PHOTOS!
mma's paintings were sected to feature in a special Liverpool edition of the BBC's Newsnight Review programme which aired on 03/10/08. [watch it here]
Emma was also interviewed on BBC radio Merseyside by Claire Hamilton. The interview aired 29/10/08.
lair
EMMA IN BBOY CREW SHOCK
ere's a photo you no doubt never expected to see - Emma striking a pose or two with Derbys BBOY champions, Trinity Warriors. She met the crew for a photoshoot the day after they were chosen to represent the UK with their break-dancing skillz! Well done guys!
They will be appearing in future Concilium Plebis paintings - watch this space...
March 3rd - 24th 2012 Picks of The Harvest Exhibition featuring Emma Tooth Thinkspace Gallery, Thinkspace Art Gallery 6009 Washington Blvd. Culver City, CA, USA 90232 (310) 558-3375
March 3rd - April 27th 2012 The Moreton Gallery Spring show The Moreton Gallery Queens Head House High Street Moreton in Marsh Gloucestershire GL56 0LH 01608 654438 / 07904 083925
Summer 2012 dates TBC Arthouse Gallery ARTHOUSE GALLERY 114 STATION ROAD NORTH CHINGFORD LONDON E4 6AB 020 8529 4406
Nov 20-22nd 2012 Learn to paint portraits with Emma Tooth
@ Derbyshire Arts Contact: Sue and Alan Barber,
Pear Tree Farm Guest House, Lea Bridge, Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 5JN +44 (0)1629 534 215 sue@derbyshirearts.co.uk
all images and design copyright emma tooth (c) 2011
here are fewer and fewer places where onecan learn to paint these days - really learn to paint - and from an artist who combines the ability to paint with the great advantage of being alive and accessible too. One such rare opportunity is coming up this November at 
t last, the new limited edition book of Emma Tooth's artwork, photgraphy and writing which she has been slaving over just for you is now available from the 
