Emily Wise welcomed me to her studio a couple of weeks ahead of her third solo show, Meet Me at the Mothership, at Chefas Projects (March 6 - April 4, 2026). The show title, a tasteful allusion to sci-fi, signals the standard themes in Wise’s work (femininity, relational intimacy, naturalist compositions) with an additional exploration into the concept of the mothership. We discussed a wide range of topics overlooking her new series of paintings, but what would a sacred feminine space, structure or utopian world look like or represent?

A studio visit with an artist friend left her thinking about and questioning whether she would incorporate architecture into her paintings as a grounding element. This question haunted her for a while. What would this look like in the core focus of her painting practice? She references Lauren dela Roche's incorporation of space, but in these open-ended and ambiguous places. She started exploring and reading about feminism in architecture, investigating how it materializes. Then there was the realization that, because of the patriarchy and history, these feminist spaces have never and still don’t exist quite in the way that she would hope. In these boundless spaces, feminine sacred spaces exist almost in action, or in more ethereal and intangible ways, through each other, through our connection, through our stories, and through our connection to the earth. We both agreed that Nature is decidedly female. She discussed that she uses her artist's statement to evoke a feeling or emotional headspace and to create a narrative. Setting the stage to receive or explore the work.

Wise’s paintings are chromatic, eye-catching, and layered, indulging in combinations of the feminine archetypes and the natural world. This new series is more elusive than the prior; images don’t feel as tightly executed, which Wise shares was her intention. She was trying to approach these new paintings with a looser hand and greater fluidity. However, these new works that allude to mythological figures, like the Graces in Wide Nets Make Long Shadows or an angel in Hark, are equally expressive. While you will see Wise’s use of super-hot highlighter pink, moody, vibrant purples, and indigos, you’ll also experience darker, deeper tones more connected to the earth and yet galactic (think photos of planets and stars taken by the Hubble and Webb telescopes, like this one of Io.) alongside lighthearted butter yellows, coral pinks, soft celadons, and edgy periwinkles. She explores the maternal presence through various entry points - her own and collective folklore. Wise’s personal interests in science fiction, nature bathing, and her tenacity in her practice all coalesce in the new presentation of work.

AG: Could you talk to us about your studio practice? How often do you go in and what that looks like, and how it aligns with your day-to-day life?

EEW: When I’m working towards a show, I try to be in the studio every day besides my regular work days. I go in the morning till later in the afternoon, about 4-5 days a week. I’ll go home to relax, decompress, and maybe take a nap. If there is still work to do or something I can’t stop thinking about, I'll head back to the studio until the evening. When not working towards a show, it’s a lot more lax. I pop in and out of the studio, stretch some canvases, do some busywork, sketch in bed at home, maintain a work-life balance, and try to live outside.

AG: I know you love sci-fi – could you share some of your favorite books and shows?

EEW: The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, The X-Files, and I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman.

AG: What are you listening to when you’re in the studio or outside of it? What do you do outside of making art that specifically brings you joy or that you find enriching in your life?

EEW: My music taste is all over the place, and the longer I’m in the studio, the weirder and/or more embarrassing it gets. My studio mate and I have been known to paint on the floor and sing Hootie and the Blowfish. I also love podcasts and audiobooks. I’ve been really loving Otherworld. I love being outside, going on long walks, hiking, camping, and paddleboarding. Silly themed dinner parties. Seeing art in real life, in all its forms, in the community, and spending time with people I love, laughing and crying with them at the same time.

AG: Can you discuss artists that inspire you and why these particular artists are influential to you?

EEW: In terms of living, working women painters: Maja Ruznic, Naudline Pierre, Mira Dancy, Lauren Dela Roche, Nadia Waheed, Cathleen Clarke, Celeste Rapone, Shara Hughes, Christina Quarles. I could really ramble on for a while, but I’ll stop. Part of what inspires me, besides all of their undeniable talent, is my deep connection to their work for various reasons. I know technically speaking none of us painters are reinventing the wheel here, considering the very long human tradition of painting (40,000 yrs-ish?), but these painters make me feel like maybe they are and maybe we can.

AG: Favorite gallery in Portland?

EEW: Chefas Projects and Nationale. I enjoy the programming at both galleries, and to me, they feel the most effortlessly contemporary in the city.

Mini Interview: Emily Elizabeth Wise