• . Re .. homed ...

    by Philip Emde
  • It looked a little like a studio, and a little like a gallery—but it didn’t behave like either. The artworks... It looked a little like a studio, and a little like a gallery—but it didn’t behave like either. The artworks... It looked a little like a studio, and a little like a gallery—but it didn’t behave like either. The artworks...
    It looked a little like a studio, and a little like a gallery—but it didn’t behave like either. The artworks were never alone. Jocko, Lora, Coco and a whole cast of soft, curious companions gathered around them—watching, whispering, playing, and sometimes becoming part of the scene themselves.
    And if you looked closely, you might notice…
    they were looking back.
    And then, something shifts.
    Emdiland doesn’t disappear—it settles. It finds a new arrangement, a new place to unfold.
    Welcome to Re Homed.
    Here, the artist’s studio moves into the gallery, carrying its inhabitants with it. The observers remain close, the boundaries soften, and the artworks are never left alone—now shared between themselves, their companions, and you.
  • Worn and weathered Steiff animals gather within playful painted tableaux, becoming companions, observers, and vessels of memory. Moving between innocence and unease, humour and reflection, . Re .. Homed ... invites us to look differently at the everyday objects we keep close—objects that, through care, use, and remembrance, begin to hold lives and stories of their own.

    • Philip Emde . Coupled .. Lora and the Ball ..., 2025 80 x 70 cm Acrylic on Canvas
      Philip Emde
      . Coupled .. Lora and the Ball ..., 2025
      80 x 70 cm
      Acrylic on Canvas
    • Philip Emde ... ORANGE and YOU ..., 2024 80 x 65 cm Acrylic on canvas
      Philip Emde
      ... ORANGE and YOU ..., 2024
      80 x 65 cm
      Acrylic on canvas
  • “The land and the sea are not separate places, but edges of the same world, where the sky bends low to listen.”
     
    Rudyard Kipling
    The Sea and the Hills
     
  • His works attempt to walk a fine line between playfulness and critique, creating immersive visual environments where images, words, and objects combine to create new meanings. In his use of color, narrative, and performance, Emde's works subvert the boundaries between medium and content in his own unique language that is at once humorous, provocative, and contemplative.

    • Philip Emde . ROBBY ., 2022 29.5 x 24 cm Acrylic on canvas
      Philip Emde
      . ROBBY ., 2022
      29.5 x 24 cm
      Acrylic on canvas
    • Philip Emde Cozy ORANGE .., 2023 37 x 27 cm Acrylic on Paper
      Philip Emde
      Cozy ORANGE .., 2023
      37 x 27 cm
      Acrylic on Paper
    • Philip Emde Ball - LORA, 2025 24 x 18 cm Acrylic on Canvas
      Philip Emde
      Ball - LORA, 2025
      24 x 18 cm
      Acrylic on Canvas
    • Philip Emde . Wuugether ., 2022 70 x 50 cm Acrylic on canvas
      Philip Emde
      . Wuugether ., 2022
      70 x 50 cm
      Acrylic on canvas
    • Philip Emde RED - Phant ...., 2025 18 x 24 cm Acrylic on canvas
      Philip Emde
      RED - Phant ...., 2025
      18 x 24 cm
      Acrylic on canvas
    • Philip Emde . Ross .. Baller ..., 2023 31 x 22 cm Acrylic on canvas
      Philip Emde
      . Ross .. Baller ..., 2023
      31 x 22 cm
      Acrylic on canvas
  • About the Artist

    About the Artist

    Philip Emde (b. 1976, Mannheim, Germany) lives and works in Cologne, Germany. Emde studied Drawing and Printmaking at the Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften (HWA), Hamburg under Prof. Ellen Sturm and Prof. Jovica Veljovic from 2000 to 2007. His artistic practice spans painting, installation, and artist books, often exploring narrative, humor, and the absurdities of everyday life through experimental visual strategies.

     

    Emde’s work negotiates a balance between playfulness and critical observation, creating immersive visual environments where imagery, text, and sculptural elements interact. He frequently integrates irony and storytelling into his compositions, crafting multilayered spaces that invite viewers to engage both intellectually and emotionally. Through his use of bold color, fragmented narratives, and performative elements, Emde challenges conventional boundaries between medium and content, forging a personal language that is at once humorous, provocative, and deeply reflective.

     

    His work has been featured internationally in solo and group exhibitions across Europe, the United States, and Asia, and is included in public and private collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York (Artist Book Collection), the Tate Library, London (Artist Book Collection), and the Xiao Museum of Contemporary Art, Rizhao, China.

     

    Emde has received notable grants and residencies, including the Rainer Funke Stiftung Prize (2018) and the Balmoral New York Fellowship (2013).

     

    Following presentations with THK Gallery at their Cologne project space, Emde was included in Enter Art Fair 2025 and the Cape Town Art Fair in 2026. In March 2026, Emde opens his first solo exhibition on the continent with THK Gallery, titled . RE .. homed ...