Emily Mason Other Rooms, Works from 1959-2017

In January 2026, Almine Rech will dedicate an exhibition at its rue de Turenne space in Paris to the American painter Emily Mason (1932–2019). This will be the first major monographic exhibition devoted to the artist in Europe, spanning nearly sixty years of her creative output. Featuring around fifty works, this retrospective will cover a period from the late 1950s to the second half of the 2010s, offering the chance to discover her paintings on canvas, clayboard and paper.

Emily Mason (1932–2019) was a visionary American abstract painter known for her vibrant, lyrical approach to color and composition. Born and raised in New York City, Mason was immersed in the world of modern art from a young age. She began her artistic education in the studio of her mother, Alice Trumbull Mason, a pioneer of American abstraction and a founding member of the American Abstract Artists group. A graduate of New York’s High School of Music and Art, Mason went on to study at Bennington College and The Cooper Union, two  institutions known for nurturing creative innovation. In 1956, she was awarded a Fulbright grant to paint  in Venice, Italy, where she studied at the Accademia delle Belle Arti. During this transformative period, she began experimenting with unconventional techniques such as paint blotting and transfer—methods that would become key elements of her artistic voice.

In 1957, Mason married fellow painter Wolf Kahn (1927–2020) at the Ponte di Rialto in Venice. Their lifelong creative partnership and shared dedication to the arts deeply influenced her work and life. Emily Mason’s paintings are celebrated for their unique fusion of Abstract Expressionism and Color Field painting, conveyed through a personal, intuitive process. Her works radiate emotion, light, and motion—qualities that have defined her as a leader in lyrical abstraction. She worked prolifically across oil on canvas, works on paper, and printmaking, always pushing the boundaries of her medium. In the words of art critic Robert Berlind, "Mason works within the improvisational model of Abstract Expressionism, though notably without angst or bravado... juxtaposing robust color harmonies with vivid contrasts that create an engaging optical vibration."

Mason first gained prominence on the Tenth Street gallery scene in 1960 with Area Gallery, and continued to exhibit regularly throughout New York City for decades. In 1979, she received the Ranger Fund Purchase Prize from the National Academy of Design. Today, her work is held in numerous major public and private collections, and her legacy endures as one of the most influential colorists and abstract painters of her generation.

In September 2025, Rizzoli published a major monograph, Emily Mason: Unknown to Possibility , the first comprehensive survey of the artist's life and art. 

Recent museum shows dedicated to Mason's work include 'She Sweeps with Many-Colored Brooms' at the Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT, US (2020), 'Color | Gesture: Early Works by Emily Mason' at the Bennington Museum, Bennington, VT, US (2019), and ‘Emily Mason: To Another Place' at the Brattleboro Museum of Art, VT, US (2018) and at the UNH Museum of Art, Durham, NH, US (2019). Her work is included in numerous American public and private collections such as The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, US; The Cleveland Museum of Art, OH, US; Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE, US; New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT, US; and the Portland Museum of Art, Portland, ME, US.