The Hepworth Wakefield was recently given a large-scale landscape painting, For the Last Time (2024), by the artist, through a generous donation from an anonymous donor. In the painting Prempeh explores perceptions of home, belonging and memory.
In her work, Prempeh captures memories of events, people and places, emphasising the passing of time and the instability of memory. She adds schlag metal, a brass alloy of copper and zinc that looks like gold leaf, to selected areas of the painting. Over time this will oxidise, creating slow changes that animate the work and further the narrative around the passing of time.
The painting will go on display at The Hepworth Wakefield in March 2026 and in celebration of the acquisition, Prempeh has created a limited edition print exclusively available from the gallery.
Prempeh's edition, The Softness of Late Bloom (2025), is a snippet of her painting, Everything stays the same in Croydon (2023), a scene depicting a front room where the artist's mother and grandma rest surrounded by brightly coloured interior.
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Images:
1. Installation images of Emma Prempeh's For the last time, 2024
Oil, acrylic and schlag metal on canvas.
Diptych, 110.3 x 340 cm
On display in the exhibition, Belonging In-Between,
Tiwani Contemporary, Lagos, Nigeria,
6 march - 24 May 2025.
Photography by Olayinka Eno Babalola
Acquired by The Hepworth Wakefield through a generous donation from an anonymous donor.
2. Emma Prempeh, The Softness of Late Bloom, 2025.
Digital pigment and silkscreen print with hand applied gold leaf on Somerset Velvet 330gsm
420mm x 323mm
Edition of 40. Signed and numbered by the artist.
Coiurtesy of the artist and The Hepworth Wakefield
