Emma Richardson - Levitate Me: Desire, Ecstasy and The Sublime

Emma Richardson has a major solo show at Southampton City Art Gallery, Levitate Me: Desire, Ecstasy and The Sublime, which opened on 25 June and runs until 31 August. It takes up the gallery's entire east wing, so it's a proper takeover rather than a few pieces tucked into a corner.

The exhibition brings together a series of new oil paintings that work around desire, transcendence and the sublime, all looked at from a female perspective. Richardson is known for a visceral approach to painting—thick, layered surfaces and large-scale works that blur the line between the physical body and something more celestial. If you're into oil painting, this is a good one to see in the flesh; the scale and the texture are a big part of the experience.

Her visual world pulls from a few different places. There's the drama of the Baroque, the atmosphere of science fiction, the writing of Annie Ernaux, and the work of the Surrealists, along with her own time touring as a musician. It's a broad mix, but it all feeds into the same territory: the tension between the earthly and the transcendent.

There's a local connection here, too. Richardson was born in Southampton and lived here for much of her life, so this is a homecoming of sorts. She's picked works from the city's own collection to hang alongside her own, setting up a conversation between her contemporary voice and the historical ones the gallery holds. It's a nice touch that makes the show feel rooted in the city rather than just passing through.

The exhibition is at the Southampton City Art Gallery, Civic Centre, Commercial Road, SO14 7LP, and runs from 25 June to 31 August 2026.