Emily Sundblad
The Adolescent Ocean
6 Jun – 8 Aug 2025
Bortolami

1/10

Emily Sundbland, The Adolescent Ocean, installation view, Bortolami, New York, 2025

“Flowers, so pathetic in their beauty, frail as the clouds, and in their coloring as gorgeous as the heavens, have, through thousands of years, been the heritage of children.”

—Thomas de Quincey, Confessions of an English Opium-Eater

Emily Sundblad’s pipe dreams throw us onto the coastline of the adolescent sublime – heeding the siren call of seashells, butterflies, and courtesans. Her pretty-in-pink paintings are shrouded by the moody and tenuous dilemma of youth — torn between inward depth and outward demands, recalling the angst of Munch’s Adolescence, the introspection of Degas’ Girl by the Sea, and the hazy, effeminate dreams of preteen wallpaper.

The Adolescent Ocean, Sundblad’s second show at Bortolami in New York, features a new body of brazenly lush paintings. A plein air panorama coated in sand captures a purpling ocean sky. Entangled branches and dripping seashells are set against citrus tones sprinkled with pixie dust. A basketball player dunks into a spiderweb beneath a vibrant Knicks logo. Crocodiles, turtles, and dragons give the sense of a child’s storybook, recalling Sundblad’s accordion edition of The Jungle Book.

— Felix Bernstein

Works

Installation view of displayed artwork titled The Adolescent Ocean

The Adolescent Ocean, 2025

Installation view of displayed artwork titled New York May

New York May, 2025

Installation view of displayed artwork titled A Wedding

A Wedding, 2025

Installation view of displayed artwork titled The Adolescent Ocean

The Adolescent Ocean, 2025

Installation view of displayed artwork titled The Adolescent Ocean

The Adolescent Ocean, 2025

Installation view of displayed artwork titled The Adolescent Ocean

The Adolescent Ocean, 2025

Installation view of displayed artwork titled Untitled

Untitled, 2025

Installation view of displayed artwork titled Mommy

Mommy, 2025

Installation view of displayed artwork titled The Adolescent Ocean

The Adolescent Ocean, 2025

Installation view of displayed artwork titled Mommy

Mommy, 2025

Installation view of displayed artwork titled Constance and Maylis

Constance and Maylis, 2025