Emiliana Henriquez

Warm Blue Velvet

January 8th, 6-8 PM

January 8th - February 5th, 2025

Warm Blue Velvet, a recently completed series by artist Emiliana Henriquez, will open on January 8th at Half Gallery Annex in New York. This body of work explores the intrinsic similarities shared across cultures, highlighting the subtle commonalities found in diverse communities. During her recent travels to Egypt, Henriquez was struck by the headpieces and coverings worn by women, which evoked the three Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The parallelism in their devotional practices led to a deep fascination with the act of concealment, as it symbolizes a profound, shared cultural resonance. Throughout the series, representations of fabric persist, underscoring a tacit religious undertone as Henriquez examines the teachings of various monotheistic faiths. With the use of a triadic color palette, elements of the Medieval period are brought into the contemporary, invoking the styles of Jan van Eyck and compositional inuences from Paula Rego. This artistic exploration probes the concept of religious conviction, blending historical and contemporary aesthetics.

The title Warm Blue Velvet encapsulates the multifaceted nature of the work. The tactile warmth of velvet seems to contrast with the cool associations typically assigned to blue, but Henriquez reimagines this contrast by imbuing the color with inviting, warm qualities. Velvet’s sensuous texture invites touch, transforming what might otherwise be a cold color into something welcoming. The pairing of these elements— blue and velvet—suggests their underlying similarities, enriching the exhibition’s conceptual framework rather than deconstructing it.

Rather than constructing an explicitly religious narrative, the series uses visual allusions to liturgical practices and symbols to prompt contemplation on the affinities between the three Abrahamic faiths. It invites reection on how these connections foster a sense of kinship among different peoples. Ultimately, the work seeks to understand one’s individual identity in relation to other cultures and explore how this shapes our understanding of our role in the world. In doing so, the exhibition brings the innate reactivity of human nature to the forefront, suggesting that a universal set of subjective experiences is essential to moral existence.