News Release
WARSAW — Atelier art gallery in Warsaw continues to highlight female artists this year with a new exhibition that kicks off Thursday night.
Atelier is pleased to present Reliquaries, an evocative and enthralling exhibition
by figurative painter Emma Grace Hapner.
Born and raised in Greentown, Ind., Hapner received her BFA in Painting from Ball State University before moving to New York City to hone her skills at the New York Academy of Art. Hapner’s work explores contemporary womanhood by reworking and reclaiming classical imagery, often inserting herself as the central subject of her paintings.
Following four solo exhibitions in New York City and the East Coast, Hapner is returning to
her home state of Indiana to share her powerful artistic practice.
Executed in her signature palette of pinks, Reliquaries features ten dynamic paintings and seven miniature paintings from her “lover’s eyes” series.
According to the artist, “The color pink is a symbol of unapologetic femininity. I paint my
figures in pink worlds and look to motifs from classical antiquity to celebrate traditional painting from my perspective: a woman seeking to understand the intricacies of womanhood.”
Hapner’s work is rich in art historical references, including the seven late-medieval
wall hangings known as The Unicorn Tapestries on permanent display at The Cloisters in New York City. Hapner’s painting The Wild Unicorn draws source material from a tapestry often referred to as The Unicorn in Captivity. In contrast to the tapestry’s fenced and seated beast, Hapner’s painting depicts the mythical creature regally rearing on its hind legs and offers a contemporary counterpoint that is wild and free.
Similarly, Hapner’s female figures, notably versions of her own image, cannot be
contained or neatly labelled. Here we see power alongside softness and strength
coupled with sensuality. Art history scholars often refer to the “gaze” as a way of
thinking about how the artist projects themself onto a subject or sitter. By acting
as her own muse, Hapner deftly takes ownership of the gaze, controlling her
image and presentation.
Reliquaries is the third exhibition in Atelier’s all-female program for 2026.
According to Atelier owner and director Sea Grandon, “Emma’s work captivated
me from the moment I first saw it. Her paintings have all the things that I look for
as a gallerist and collector: undeniable beauty, rich historical and intellectual underpinnings, and impressive virtuosity. I was immediately interested in collaborating with her; learning that she was originally from a small town in Indiana only deepened the meaning of a potential exhibition at Atelier.”
“The program at the gallery this year is completely devoted to presenting and
advancing the work of female artists,” continues Grandon. “Emma’s work and
perspective are uniquely her own. By sharing these iterations of herself, both real
and imagined, the paintings invite each of us to consider our complete autonomy
over the expression of our image, interiority, and femininity. I hope that every girl
and woman who visits this exhibition is inspired to embrace her own unique
authenticity and power.”
Reliquaries opens September 17 and runs through Oct. 30, with an opening reception on Thursday Sept. 17 from 6-8:00 pm.
Atelier hours are 11 am to 4 pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays and 11 am to 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
Emma Grace Hapner was born in Greentown, Indiana, in 1998. She has a BFA from
Ball State University and an MFA from the New York Academy of Art. Alongside her
artistic practice, she works as an educator and writer. She debuted her first
curatorial project, Feminina, in January 2026 at Warnes Contemporary in Brooklyn.
In February 2026, Hapner curated The Secret Show with Era Contemporary hosted
by The Jane Gallery in Philadelphia. Both group exhibitions featured feminine
explorations of contemporary womanhood. Reliquaries is Hapner’s fifth solo
exhibition. She lives and works in New York City.
