Biography

Emmalyn Rucker was born in New Martinsville, WV, and attended Kent State University (KSU) in Kent, OH, where she studied Fine Arts and Art History.  She predominantly works in acrylic paintings and mixed media drawings, using saturated colors and bold mark-making to explore new techniques.  Frequent travel to Italy has given her new perspectives on many social issues, as well as the opportunity to observe and study works by the great Italian masters, who have heavily influenced her work.  In 2011, she created the backdrops for KSU’s Rock the Runway: Venetian Carnival.  Her work has also been included in the group show Dimensional (2012) at the William Busta Gallery in Cleveland, OH, KSU’s Student Annual Juried Exhibition (2012), KSU’s Drawing V Exhibition (2011), KSU’s Digital Media Short Film Festival (2009) and the Congressional Art Competition (2008) in D.C.  In the 6th Annual Honors College Student Show (2012), she received the award “Best Piece” for her screenprint entitled The Garden.  In 2011, she created a temporary screenprint wall project that was located inside the KSU School of Art’s lobby area for one week.  Her show Beyond the Stone (2014) at the Gold Derrick Gallery in Sistersville, WV, utilized mixed media drawings as well as paintings to explore how timeless sculptures have affected viewers as well as forged interesting relationships with their environments.   Recently, her work has been directed toward investigating "fracking" and its unfortunate relationship with the environment.  She is currently residing in Florence, Italy, with her husband.