The Grenning Gallery is pleased to announce our first Solo Exhibition for Australian artist, Emily Persson. Please help us celebrate Persson, who will be traveling over 10,000 miles to attend our Opening Reception Saturday May 2, 5:30-7:00pm at 26 Main Street, Sag Harbor, NY, 11963. The exhibition will hang through Memorial Day, Monday, May 25th.
Seven years ago, Gallery Manager Megan Toy discovered Persson's work on Instagram and immediately reached out. Toy was curating an exhibition titled "Thick & Wet," and Persson's signature palette-knife impasto applied to traditional subjects was exactly what she was looking for. Persson submitted seven small-scale paintings — all of which sold. Since then, she has appeared in several group shows, a two-person show in 2024, and a three-person show in 2025. Persson visited Sag Harbor for the first time in 2024, returning home to paint a collection of local scenes that proved enormously popular. Coming from Australia's arid climate, she brings a fresh eye to the lush East End landscape — the privet hedges, hydrangeas, rose bushes, and coastal shrubs are all entirely new to her.
“I Wonder So I Wander” presents a verdant scene of Sag Harbor. A front yard on Main Street is bordered by freshly cut privet and showered in shade from mature trees. Each leaf is defined with Persson’s palette knife, appearing to flutter in the breeze. A white crossbuck gate bridges the gap between two hedges: a subtle barrier of exclusive privacy. A humble white cottage glows in the sunlight towards the back of the yard. And beyond this expanse of trees and green grass, lies the silver surface of the sea.
In “Island Life”, Persson offers a clear view of the sea, flanked by the lush greenery she’s smitten with. Docks reach out from the shoreline into the sea, and sailboats bob and sway atop the silky blue surface. Situated within the shade, and looking out towards the bright open water, the viewer finds rest, as if they are sitting on the very hill Persson has placed us on.
In “Everything is Everything”, Persson presents the shining sea in all its glory. The power of the vast ocean, the momentum of waves approaching shore, and the gentle shallow recession from the sand is intoxicatingly calming. Persson has captured all of this under a bright sun which casts sparkles across the painting.
That same effervescent shimmer is present in “Direct Beach Access” which places the viewer in the back yard of a waterfront home. A privet hedge lines the property line, and wooden steps lead down to the dock. The yard is adorned with bushes of hydrangeas and reaching pollinators. The sea reflects the blue sky above it and leads the eye towards distant peninsulas.
In addition to these striking landscapes, Persson also delivers sumptuous close-ups of roses, hydrangeas, and white dogwood blossoms, and ventures into moodier territory with stormy weather scenes like “I'm as Free as the Breeze”. A glimpse of NYC's Central Park and one small painting of her Australian homeland round out the show, offering a telling contrast in landscape.
Emily Persson's solo debut at The Grenning Gallery is a homecoming of sorts — not for the artist, but for the landscape itself, seen clearly for the first time through an outsider's eyes. The exhibition runs May 2-25, 2026, at 26 Main Street, Sag Harbor, NY. Opening Reception is Saturday, May 2nd, 5:30-7:00pm. For inquiries, please contact the gallery at 631-725-8469.
