Emma Stibbon’s Svalbard Prints Enter the British Museum Collection

Gjertsenodden, Svalbard (2024)

Two prints by British artist Emma Stibbon RA have recently been acquired by the British Museum, London, adding to the institution’s collection of contemporary works on paper. Both works stem from Stibbon’s residency with us at Artica Svalbard, where she immersed herself in the Arctic landscape and its accelerating environmental changes.

Gjertsenodden, Svalbard (2024) is an intaglio print produced in an edition of 35, depicting the stark geology of the archipelago. Isfjorden, Svalbard (2020) reflects the same close engagement with the High Arctic environment.

Reflecting on her practice, Stibbon has said: “I feel working from landscape today has never been more pressing. I’m increasingly aware that I am living through a time of unprecedented change and that we need to understand what we are doing, and what we stand to lose.”

This month, Stibbon opens a major solo exhibition at Cristea Roberts Gallery, London, titled Emma Stibbon: Melting Ice, Rising Tides. The exhibition will feature new works, some monumental in scale, that link the erosion of Arctic ice with the rising seas and eroding coastlines of the UK. The opening reception is on Wednesday 22 October, 6–7.30pm.

For more information visit:
https://cristearoberts.com/exhibitions/276-emma-stibbon-melting-ice-rising-tides/

“It is always rewarding to see the outcomes of our residencies continuing to resonate far beyond Svalbard. Emma’s works entering the British Museum collection is a powerful example of how time spent here in the High Arctic can inspire work that speaks to global audiences about urgent shared challenges,” says Charlotte Hetherington, Director of Artica Svalbard.

Isfjorden, Svalbard (2020)