Emerging Artists

Emilia Momen is a 23 year old figurative oil painter based in London. She studied fine art at Fine Arts Hampstead & Camberwell UAL. From there she travelled to Florence for a traditional training in life drawing at Charles Cecil. Her first oil painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2021 and she has since had a solo show at Ronchini Gallery in Mayfair, as well as exhibiting internationally at art fairs such as ‘Untitled Miami’ and ‘Dallas Art Fair’. This year she has won the Young Masters 2025 Women Artist Award, for her painting of Tracey Emin’s White cube dinner. She has also been chosen by The Royal society of Portrait painters to exhibit her painting “School Yard bully’ at The Mall Galleries during May 2025, and has just been tipped as one of the top 10 artist to invest in by Artelier Art Advisory. Momen’s next solo show will be in Mayfair, London in January 2026.

What themes or questions do you find recurring in your work?

Women in Top Hats, but most recently bathers & women bathing in 1970s swimsuits on grass next to water. I’ve been told my work has an ‘Alice in wonderland’ feel to it, but that’s just genuinely how I see the world. Specific themes have included: Friends and Lovers, circus performers, and most recently Bathers.

Can you describe a pivotal moment in your journey as an artist?

Being one of the youngest people to have my first oil painting accepted into the RA Summer Exhibition and consequently being picked up by a renown London Gallery as a result.

What materials or processes are most important in your practice - and why?

I’m meticulous about the materials I use. Firstly, the canvas has to be very fine, I don’t want to be battling against the grain with my brush, it needs to be as smooth as possible. I use Micheal Harding, Mussini & Old Holland oil paints as the colours are very strong, I don’t like colours that have had too much white mixed into them. Lastly, the composition of the painting is almost as important as the painting itself, I spend hours planning and moving figures around by just millimetres.

How do you want people to feel when they experience your work?

Excited. I want people to be inspired to create. I want a painter to be filled with that rush of excitement when seeing a painting sparks an idea inside you, partly because that is a feeling I look forward to and hope for every time I step into a gallery so to do that for someone else would be great. I’d also love if a painting reminded someone of a particular memory of theirs, or of an experience they had.

What does a typical day in your studio look like?

I spend almost every day in my studio, but the most creative time for me is in the morning when my mind is fresh.

What dreams or hopes do you have for your artistic journey?

I have a few too many to list… but I’d love to swap a painting with Peter Doig!