Emily Russman

Emily Russman (b. 1992, Marlborough, NH) is a visual artist working out of Keene, New Hampshire.  Her works explore the layers of emotional intimacy and social themes as they relate to our daily lives. She is currently working towards her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. Emily is primarily a figurative painter, creating works that depict real people from her life.  She also works in ceramics, sculpture and drawing. 

Emily has received the Robert S. Neuman Art Award for excellence in art, the Art & Design Fellowship at the Thorne Sagendorph Art Gallery 2024 & 2025, first place in the WCA NH Scholarship, among other academic awards for scholarly achievement. She took part in a collaborative mural project for Wheelock Elementary school, and has participated in the local Art Walk annual event as a displaying artist. She has exhibited at the Carroll House Gallery, Keene, NH; West LA Brewery, Swanzey, NH; Rochester Contemporary Arts Center, Rochester, NY; Keene ArtWalk, Keene, NH; Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, Brattleboro VT; and Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery, Keene, NH.

Emily completed the Exhibitions Internship at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, participating in the installation and breakdown of shows, research and organization projects, and general museum operations. She has been working at the Thorne Sagendorph Art Gallery as a Gallery Assistant, archivist and Fellow since 2022. She  maintains an on-campus studio at Keene State College.

Emily’s artwork was featured in ‘Primary Instincts’, on view March 14-29, 2026.

“What I create is a tribute to the life of the subject. I experience a compulsion to use unnatural colors, skewed physical perspectives, displaced objects and other disruptions to display the fallible nature of our memories.

These visions eventually become all we have left of a thing, and they’re colored and distorted by forces outside of our control. I adore candid snapshots of pure, fleeting moments. Childhood memories especially encapsulate a boldness that I view as the essence of life – amid the chaos, an encompassing lack of fear. Beauty lives in the contrast. Recent works dissect the living experience with our bodies as a vessel. Ideas of decency, vanity, and ownership are applied to us from birth. Who is allowed to touch us, view us, and dictate what we are to do and not do are inherent problems to solve so long as your consciousness occupies flesh and blood.”