By myself

Emma Labattaglia (b 1980) is a contemporary artist known for her richly layered abstract works that weave memory, heritage, and personal history into textured, emotionally resonant canvases. Born in Melbourne, Victoria, and trained in Fine Arts painting in both Melbourne and Italy, Emma’s practice is deeply rooted in the traditions of her family and the tactile rituals of making.

Her earliest creative inspiration came from her Opa, a painter himself, whose backyard studio was a place of quiet focus and generational connection. These formative memories remain integral to her process—each brushstroke a thread connecting past to present.
Collage is central to her work, where torn canvas, overlapping textures, and scraped-back surfaces echo the way memories layer, fade, and resurface. Her paintings are not pristine—they are weathered, instinctive, and human. Thick oil paint and delicate pastel lines coexist, creating tension and tenderness on the same surface. Recurring motifs, like tulips, bloom as symbols of ancestry and unfolding lineage.

Through abstraction, Emma finds language where words fall short. Her work embraces imperfection and invites viewers to engage with the beauty of what is raw, unrefined, and deeply felt. Each piece becomes a meditation on time, transformation, and the stories carried forward.