Of French origin and born in 1977, Florence Blanchard is a Sheffield-based painter, muralist and screenprinter.
Known internationally for her work transforming city spaces with her signature style of flowing, amorphous shapes in bright colours, Blanchard was one of the first female graffiti artists in France and began working in the early 1990s under the name ‘Ema’. She spent ten years based in New York where she graduated with a PhD from New York University in 2008. Her work is directly inspired by her training as a scientist and depicts abstract molecular landscapes questioning the idea of visual perception.
Blanchard’s practice is exhibited in galleries and public spaces in the US, Japan, Europe, Australia and the UK:
In 2019 the artist was commissioned through ‘City of Ideas’ to transform an area of 1000 sqm into BOUNCE – a permanent, vibrant and playful focal point landmark in the Cultural Industries Quarter, Sheffield. Other notable outdoor works reside in the form of street murals in Betsukai and Kodama, Japan, and at the Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) in Tasmania, Australia.
