Emma Coyle has been immersed in the visual language of Pop for over twenty years—but she’s never just followed its rules. Originally from Ireland and living in London since 2006, her work draws energy from the bold aesthetics of 1960s American Pop Art. But she doesn’t recreate that style—she recasts it. Coyle’s paintings are anchored in the present, built from fragments of modern advertising, filtered through her practiced hand. Her 2022 solo show The Best Revenge at Helwaser Gallery in New York grabbed attention for that exact reason. The exhibition was listed 12th on GalleriesNow’s ranking of the most popular shows at the time. Coyle continues to work with Helwaser, but she isn’t settling into routine. Her work keeps shifting—new forms, new moods, same sharp focus.
The Tall Statement: 25.01 (2025)
25.01 is Coyle’s tallest work to date—standing eight feet high and three feet wide. Its vertical reach gives it presence, but what draws the viewer in is the unease. A figure appears off-centered on purpose, tilting the balance and keeping things in motion. Coyle doesn’t want the painting to sit quietly on the wall. She wants it to stay active, even still.
Pop Art’s fingerprints are there in the vivid tones and bold shapes. But Coyle is clear—this isn’t about throwback style or nostalgia. She wants her paintings to feel new. That means avoiding predictable tropes, even those she once explored. Her reference points come from today’s media landscape—ads and images that catch her attention for how they’re composed, not what they sell. She breaks them apart, reuses the bones, and paints something that’s all hers.
With 25.01, she’s refining her long-term commitment to shifting scale, tension, and color. There’s no formula at play, just a painter refusing to get too comfortable.
Momentum in Motion: The Slice and Big Mouth
The first painting she completed in 2025, The Slice, continues that off-center approach. At 48 by 60 inches, it plays with narrative and rhythm. There’s a figure again, not placed in the middle but leaning into space. The imbalance creates movement. The story isn’t spelled out—it lingers in the background, asking you to look a little longer.
Then came Big Mouth. It’s the same dimensions flipped—60 by 48 inches—but the vibe is connected. These two works feel like siblings. They share a tone: something youthful, quick, maybe even loud—but not in a brash or retro sense. They hum with energy, not volume.
Coyle says she avoids repeating past imagery. Even when the shapes echo earlier work, the intention is different. Her source materials come from current advertising, stripped of their commercial intent and turned into something visual and open-ended. In her hands, these fragments become tools—not content.
There’s an edge to the brushwork. Her lines aren’t about perfection. The compositions play with contrast, overlapping colors, and moments of dissonance. It’s less about control, more about presence. These paintings feel built to stop you in your tracks.
Staying Uncomfortable
Coyle’s process is grounded in resistance—to routine, to repetition, to becoming static. She’s aware of how easy it is to fall back on familiar images or themes. So she pushes back. Each new piece starts with something different—an unfamiliar layout, a fresh reference, a shift in color strategy. That’s how she keeps moving forward.
Her use of color is especially considered. While her roots in Pop Art still show in the bold hues, she doesn’t lock herself into high contrast for its own sake. She uses restraint where needed, leaving space, dropping out detail, or letting parts of the canvas breathe.
There’s nothing ironic or sentimental in her approach. These paintings aren’t parodies or pastiches. They’re clean-cut forms built with attention, intention, and energy.
Where It’s Going
Emma Coyle’s work asks you to stop, look, and notice what’s shifted. Her pieces don’t sit in the past, even if they nod to it. They carry the DNA of Pop Art, but they’re forward-facing—built with the clutter and speed of now in mind. She’s not chasing trends or retelling old stories. She’s rebuilding visual language on her terms.
Each painting—whether it’s 25.01, The Slice, or Big Mouth—carries that tension between familiarity and reinvention. And that’s the quiet engine of her practice. She’s not repeating. She’s refining. And that’s what keeps her work alive.
