
Emily Garfield
New York, NY
About the Artist
Emily Garfield creates intricate maps of imaginary places that explore the origins of cities and the function of maps themselves. Her work is inspired by the visual language of maps as well as the fractal similarity that cities share with biological processes such as the patterns of cells and neurons.
Taking inspiration from scientific approaches, Emily Garfield bases her art practice on collaborative discovery as much as individual research, highlighted in ongoing monthly science-art meetups as well as workshops: at Genspace in New York, and at the DeCordova Museum and the Peabody Essex …
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Join NowAbout the Artist
Emily Garfield creates intricate maps of imaginary places that explore the origins of cities and the function of maps themselves. Her work is inspired by the visual language of maps as well as the fractal similarity that cities share with biological processes such as the patterns of cells and neurons.
Taking inspiration from scientific approaches, Emily Garfield bases her art practice on collaborative discovery as much as individual research, highlighted in ongoing monthly science-art meetups as well as workshops: at Genspace in New York, and at the DeCordova Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum while in Boston, among others. She was the 2014 director of the Somerville Open Studios city-wide arts event, and now lives in New York where she helps to produce the Tribeca Art+Culture Night art festival. Emily Garfield received her BA in Visual Arts from Brown University, where she also studied the aesthetic response through cognitive science.
Time-lapse map drawing video: http://vimeo.com/50571510
7-minute presentation from 2017 on making maps from rules: https://youtu.be/x6yIast7AFo
20-minute presentation from 2020 on inspirations and science connection: https://youtu.be/dtpsDWZg3tA
Artist’s Work
Composites





Cityspaces











Organic Algorithm series



Quadrants series


Selected Exhibitions
- Studios on the Park
Paso Robles, CA, 2019 - New York Hall of Science
New York, NY, 2018 - Gallery 263
Cambridge, MA, 2017 - Map Center, Boston Public Library
Boston, MA, 2015 - City Hall
Boston, MA, 2012
Press and Accolades
- The Atlantic "City Lab" blog
March 10, 2015 - Boston Globe Blog "Five Great Artists"
September 12, 2011 - "From Here to There" (book)
September 1, 2010 (publication date)
Education
- Brown University, A.B. Visual Art
Providence, RI,2009 - Nanzan University, Program in traditional arts
Nagoya, Japan,2008