Holy Grounds

Kings, prophets, martyrs, saints, angels…lost, but ultimately redeemable souls.

Emil Kemp is a self-taught artist based in Morningside, Pennsylvania. Initially influenced by Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon, and Luc Tuymans, Kemp created a signature style of thick paint and a color palette that harkens back to the Old Masters.

Holy Grounds offers a solid foundation to return to in our decidedly untethered world. Rendered in oil paint—a medium as historic as any subject it may depict—these images aim to remind, awaken, and preserve. Several works speak directly to long-past image makers, such as Titian and Ferdinand Hodler, who worked with the same reverence for ‘the holy’. Combining subjects from myth, history, and religious iconography, Kemp explores the idea of a timeless image and how the qualities of oil paint can work with subject and composition to heighten the poignancy and novelty of a portrayal.

Biography

Natan Lawson received a BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design. His work has been featured in exhibitions at 11 Newel Gallery, New York, Rosenberg Gallery, Baltimore Museum of Art, and Resort Gallery, among others. Lawson’s paintings have been featured in multiple HBO and Netflix productions and are represented in collections such as Kadish, Paris and San Francisco, CA; Fidelity Investments Corporate Art Collection, Boston, MA; and Capital One, McLean, VA. In addition to other honors, he received an Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council (2016). He lives in Baltimore, MD.

Plan Your Visit

Exhibition Details

Date: November 11, 2026 – January 31, 2027

Gallery: S. Wilson and Grace M. Pollock Education Center Gallery

Events

Third in the Burg

Friday, November 20, 2026 5:00 – 8:00 pm Free Admission

Third in the Burg

Friday, December 18, 2026 5:00 – 8:00 pm Free Admission

Third in the Burg

Friday, January 15, 2027 5:00 – 8:00 pm Free Admission

Artwork

Emil Kemp, Aldobrandini Madonna (after Titian) , 2025, oil on canvas

Emil Kemp, Nature Morte , 2026, oil on panel

Emil Kemp, Angel Lost In The Wilderness , 2022, oil on canvas