Emma Batterman (she/they) is a Chicago based artist, writer, and future educator. Expecting to graduate in Spring of 2026, she attends the School of the Art Institute of Chicago working towards a BFA in Art Education. In her practice, she is attracted to themes of storytelling and interpersonal connection. She takes inspiration from myth and personal experience to portray the grandeur of mortal understanding through the aching lens of the human subject. True to her passion for education, Batterman's practice is constantly expanding as she considers learning and growing a life-long experience.
STATEMENT
I don’t believe in an artist’s growth as a finite experience, yet I’ve found myself consistently attracted to themes of storytelling and interpersonal connection. I think the relationships between people and how we interpret them creates something beautiful and borderline mythical. Though my practice is constantly broadening, I’ve found something significant in attempting to portray the grandeur of human understanding by isolating the tenderness of the subject. Many myths and narratives throughout history become the vessel by which we understand the human experience. I’ve used this approach in my practice, depicting personal and sociopolitical interpretations of these stories to layer the thematic elements of a piece primarily through the use of drawing and painting. I use both digital tools as well as oil, watercolor, graphite, and ink to peel open the layers of intimacy at the core of these stories. As I believe in learning as a lifelong process, I continue to build on conceptual understandings of these grand, mythical human relationships through study, practice, and constant growth.