Lives and works in New York City
Emma Hapner (b. 1998) is a figurative oil painter based in New York City. She earned her Master of Fine Arts with a concentration in painting from the New York Academy of Art, after completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Ball State University in her home state of Indiana. Hapner primarily works in oil paint on canvas, creating figurative pieces that reclaim the language of classical painting through a contemporary feminine perspective.
In addition to her work as an artist, Hapner is an educator, art historian, and writer. She debuted her first curatorial project, Femina, in January 2026 at Warnes Contemporary in Brooklyn, and in early 2026 continued her work as a curator with The Secret Show with Era Contemporary, hosted by The Jane Gallery in Philadelphia. Both group exhibitions featured feminine explorations of contemporary womanhood.
To Hapner, the color pink is a symbol of unapologetic femininity. She paints her figures in pink worlds and looks to motifs from classical antiquity to celebrate traditional painting from her own perspective: a woman seeking to understand the intricacies of womanhood.
Her paintings focus on the duality of womanhood she has experienced, exploring the desire to embody power and sexuality alongside an interest in beauty, softness, and “girly” traits — acknowledging that one does not detract from the other. In many works, she uses clothing, costumes, and stage poses that draw on elements of fantasy and storytelling, almost as if playing a game of dress-up; a pair of heels, she notes, can give the mindset of wearing a suit of armor, each outfit allowing her to slip into a different identity.
By immersing multiple figures in a hot pink space, Hapner depicts the intimate, tumultuous, and ever-changing relationship with oneself. Conventionally a color for little girls, pink appears in her work in more intense shades — quinacridone red, magenta, fluorescent pink — to embrace both sensuality and power.
Exhibitions at VillageOneArt
2025 — In The Mood For Love (group exhibition), March 8 – April 19, 2025
2024 — VOLTA New York (art fair), September 2024
2023 — Cowgirls and Mermaids (solo), October 27, 2023 · Girls Will Be Girls (solo), April 5, 2023
2022 — Revealing the Beauty Within (group exhibition), May 18, 2022
News
2024 — Art Ego and the World: Artist Interview
2023 — Emma Hapner Featured on Create Magazine
Education
MFA, Painting — New York Academy of Art
BFA — Ball State University, Indiana
Selected Exhibitions
2026 — Warnes Contemporary, “Affordable Art Fair” (group), March 2026 · Warnes Contemporary, “Femina” (group, curated by the artist), January 2026 · Era Contemporary at The Jane Gallery, “The Secret Show” (group, curated by the artist), January 2026
2025 — Arch Enemy Arts, Aqua Art Miami (group), December 2025 · 1969 Gallery, “Atelier II” (solo), October 2025 · Arch Enemy Arts, “Celestial II” (group), October 2025 · Arch Enemy Arts, “Spectrum VI” (group), September 2025 · Gagne Contemporary, “The Invisible String” (group), September 2025 · Croyds Gallery, “The Four Horsemen” (group), August 2025 · Era Contemporary, “Gardens of Enchantment” (group), July 2025 · Loft Projects, Future Fair (group), May 2025 · 19 Karen Contemporary, “Two of a Kind” (group), May 2025 · Warnes Contemporary, “All’s Fair” (solo), February 2025
2024 — Eclectica Contemporary, “Going Guerrilla” (group), October 2024 · Artsin Square, “Endless Dreams” (group), August 2024 · Living Gallery, “Volume” (group), April 2024 · Anderson Contemporary, “Generations” (group), March 2024 · Landmark Artspace, “Feminine Visions” (group), March 2024 · Black Brick Project, “Heart of the Garden” (group), February 2024
2023 — Visionary Projects, “The Collective” (group), December 2023 · Spring Break Art Fair, “Wild Card”, September 2023 · Artsy, “Foundations” Art Fair, August 2023 · Soiree Henzo, Soiree Henzo 100, July 2023 · Tchotchke Gallery, “High Maintenance” (group), May 2023
2022 — Better Go South, “Spectrum” (group), November 2022 · The Untitled Space, “The Rebel Exhibit” (group), September 2022 · Natasha Arlesan Gallery, “Tomorrow’s Women” (group), August 2022 · Tchotchke Gallery, “If It’s Not Baroque, Don’t Fix It” (group), August 2022 · O’Flaherty’s, “The Patriot” (group), July 2022 · [venue not specified in source] (group), February 2022 · Lorin Gallery, “Femininity” (group), May 2022 · Dacia Gallery, New York, “Carpe Diem” (group), February 2022
2019–2022 — Student Curatorial Committee, Student Show, New York Academy of Art, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2022
2019 — Harrison Center First Friday Exhibition, Speck Gallery, January 2019 · Senior Thesis Exhibition, Ball State School of Art, December 2019 · 121st Annual Exhibition, Anderson Museum of Art, November 2019 · Annual Printer Jam, Muncie Makes, November 2019 · Artworks Gallery, Kokomo, IN, August–December 2019 · Blackford County Center for the Arts Summer Exhibition · Bracken Library Summer Exhibition · Ball State University Annual Student Show
2018 — Nickel Plate Arts Gallery, “Fit to Print” Exhibition · Honeywell Center Clark Gallery Themed Competition
Selected Publications
2025 — Divide Magazine, Issue 15, September 2025 · New Visionary Magazine, Issue 14, May 2025
2024 — Croyds, Issue 1, October 2024 · Art Maze, Edition 34–37, April 2024 · Friend of the Artist, Issue 18, April 2024 · Booooooom, Array Zine, March 2024 · Women United, Issue 6, March 2024
2023 — New Visionary Magazine, Issue 8, November 2023 · Artwalk Magazine, Issue 3, March 2023
2022 — Untitled Magazine, The Rebel Issue, November 2022 · Create Magazine, Issue 30, May 2022
For inquiries regarding available works by Emma Hapner, please contact info@villageoneart.com.