Em Meine
Out There

November 12, 2021–January 23, 2022
Opening reception: Saturday, December 4, 11am-1pm, SW corner of 7th and Irving

For the newest Premiere Jr. billboard, Oakland artist Em Meine has created a multilayered drawing that offers a bright portal to a faraway place. Out There, a constellation of blue dots on a yellow background, is viewed through a grid overlay that casts a shadow on the image it frames. The swarming, clustered, fluid composition is reminiscent of a vast area plotted on a map, or something vague yet familiar glanced through a windowpane.

Meine considered the physical location of Premiere Jr. while making the drawing, creating a glowing, sunny image for a part of San Francisco that’s often shrouded in fog. At a time when gathering in person is still fraught, Meine describes the process of drawing Out There, which depicts dots of paint in close proximity amid unlimited space, as freeing.

Em Meine lives and works in Oakland, CA. She makes drawings, paintings and sculptures as a means of exploring collective memory, storytelling, natural history and anthropomorphism. Em has exhibited in New York, Texas, Chicago and California, including shows at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Southern Exposure, and the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. She received a BFA at Maryland Institute College of Art and an MFA from California College of the Arts. Outside of her creative practice, Em works full-time as a mother and as the director of faculty affairs and records at California College of the Arts.