Emily Schnellbacher explores the parallels between nature in man through a combination of soft sculptures, installation, photography, and painting. Her expressions span the physical, psychological, and philosophical commonalities between the two. In combining a range of poetic motifs while retaining a certain ambiguity, Schnellbacher invites viewers to excavate the works’ layers and create individual associations and narratives. As humans’ lives are so intimately tied to fabric, textiles play a large role in Schnellbacher’s studio practice. Fabric elicits a certains nostalgia and references the domestic. It is also the shelter humans carry throughout their lives and into the world. In addition to fabric’s conceptual significance, Schnellbacher enjoys the material and aesthetic challenges it presents.

“My favorite fabrics are those I obtain second hand that embody their own history. Resource Exchange offers a wonderful assortment of salvaged materials that I’ve used in numerous pieces. I especially love and have incorporated their velvets and embroidery and sewing threads into recent work”