BIOGRAPHY
Emi is a visual artist who goes by the alias H.R. Emi. Specializing in painting and drawing, she creates art with the intention of capturing a disruption of emotion through everyday moments. H.R. Emi’s work blends realism, iconography, and language to create her artistic vision, often representing snapshots of familiar liminal spaces that tell a portion of an interactive narrative; this artistic narrative is also influenced by the duality of her Mexican and American background. Through art, Emi has learned how to visualize the way she navigates the world, how she records her time here, and how she reflects on her own particular lens of life.
H.R. Emi (b. 2000) is based in Yakima Valley and is a First-Generation Mexican-American with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Central Washington University. Currently, Emi has been interested in how her work reflects her personal intergenerational trauma due to the legacies of colonialism, systematic racism, and immigrant-related stressors. As the firstborn child of Mexican immigrants, Emi was the first to navigate many aspects of American society– creating experiences that were unexplainable to her due to lack of discussion and representation. Identifying and understanding these cycles has been Emi’s current objective with her body of work. She embraces how there is beauty within pain and expresses the way she experiences life through her artistic practice.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
BFA in Studio Art, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington
- Concentration in Studio Art Specialization in Painting, Drawing, and Photography.
Awards, Grants, & Panelist
2023 EmergEast Finalist Awarded Affiliated Membership, Gallery 110, Seattle, Washington
2023 Presentation Panelist for Artist of Color Expo & Symposium, Shunpike, Seattle, Washington
2022 Panelist for Grants for Artist Progress, Artist Trust, Seattle, Washington
2021 Grant Recipient for GAP Award, Artist Trust, Seattle, Washington
Exhibitions
2025 Seattle Art Fair 2025, Booth C23 with Gallery 110 Artist Collective, Seattle, Washington
2025 Inbetween, Solo, Gallery 110, Seattle, Washington
2024 Rosa Mexicano, Mezcla Collective, Shunipike, Seattle, Washington
2024 America Forward: Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQIA+, Group Curated by Artist Trust, Art in Embassies - U.S. Department of State, Bridgetown, Barbados
2023 Undertone, Solo, Oak Hollow Gallery, Yakima, Washington
2023 EmergEast Final Exhibition, Juried, Top Finalist, Gallery 110, Seattle, Washington
2023 EmergEast Semi Finalist Exhibition, Juried, Finalist, Heritage University, Toppenish, Washington
2022 Divine Feminine, Group, Gallery One, Ellensburg, Washington
2021 Moments, Solo, Gallery 231, Ellensburg, Washington
2020 Claiming Space, Group, Collab Yakima, Yakima, Washington
Press, Articles, & More
Art in Embassies, U.S. Department of State - Bridgetown, Barbados Publication 2024 Article
Gallery 110, Seattle — H.R. Emi Artist Website Page
Yakima Herald-Republic — Article: “The Art Scene: ‘Undertone’ exhibit”
Artist Trust, Seattle — H.R. Emi Grantees Website Page