Emily Mason
Panel talk: Steven Rose, Erik Verhagen, and Barbara Stehle
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.
On the occasion of 'Emily Mason: Other Rooms, Works from 1959–2017', Almine Rech is pleased to present a conversation between Steven Rose, Director of the Emily Mason and Alice Trumbull Mason Foundation; Erik Verhagen, curator of the exhibition; and Barbara Stehle, Emily Mason scholar. The panel was moderated by Lillian Davies, writer and curator. The exhibition is currently on view at Almine Rech Turenne, through March 14, 2026.
Engaging with Mason’s body of work means accepting the risk of disorientation—of entering a terrain with shifting boundaries, composed of diverse realms, and surrendering to the vertigo caused by the loss of familiar reference points provided by immediately identifiable artistic practice. Her work was not born ex nihilo. How could it have been otherwise, for an American artist who began her journey in the mid-1950s, frequenting the Museum of Modern Art in New York before studying at Bennington College in the state of Vermont, a place that would come to play an important role in her life? Like many of her generation, she came into contact with Hans Hofmann. And like many of her generation, she immersed herself in European painting while simultaneously seeking to forge her own path, one shaped by both the Abstract Expressionists in New York and the painters of the Bay Area.
— Erik Verhagen, art historian and curator
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.
