La Pittura Collection – New motifs, familiar forms
American artist Emma Kohlmann expands her La Pittura tableware collection – Italian for 'the painting' – with new motifs on familiar forms. Her expressive language continues to unfold across hand-painted ceramics, each object brought to life by her distinctive style. For this collection, she delved into visual history at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York – drawing from Italian Renaissance pottery, Art Deco design, and Danish ceramic traditions, a curiosity nurtured by countless visits to the museum since childhood. At HAY, the belief that beauty belongs in people's lives finds its place here, on the table.
About Emma Kohlmann
Emma Kohlmann is an internationally recognised American artist whose work spans a diverse range of mediums, including drawing, painting, zines, digital art, and writing. Her distinct visual universe deliberately democratises art forms, making them accessible to wider audiences. Kohlmann attended Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, where she studied philosophy and feminist theory before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Now based in Massachusetts, her artistic practice blends abstraction and figuration, exploring the boundaries between dreams and reality, identity, and the human condition through fluid, organic forms. Often centred around themes of gender and fluidity, her work challenges traditional notions and boundaries, as well as commonplace understandings of the world. She also co-runs Mundus Press with her sister, Charlotte Kohlmann – an inclusive, collaborative community focused on equitable and affordable publishing. Represented by V1 Gallery in Copenhagen, Kohlmann has exhibited in solo and group shows across Denmark and abroad. For HAY, Emma Kohlmann has designed the La Pittura tableware collection.
