Emma Childs, "Chora" | Opening Reception
“Chora” (or khôra) primarily refers to a Greek term for a space, region, or “receptacle” that gives place to being.
Chora, a solo exhibition of new paintings by Baltimore-based painter Emma Childs, curated by Teri Henderson.
For Chora, Emma Childs debuts a new body of work, the largest presentation of the 30-year-old’s extensive oeuvre thus far. Diligently and with flourish, she paints portals that are simultaneously self-contained and activated by the viewer. Each work becomes a conduit for communication between this plane and the numinous. In this offering, each curated encounter allows the boundaries between sight and sound to evaporate and in the sanctuary Childs’ paintings sing.
A church is inherently a chora: a consecrated void built to hold the invisible, the spiritual, and the transcendent. Placing Childs’ work inside this 19th-century Norman Gothic sanctuary performs an act of spatial nesting.
In partnership with The Ivy Bookshop, Chora is accompanied by a curatorial and artist reading list that includes a selection of books that informed research and inspiration for the exhibition.
Visiting Chora
Opening Reception: Friday, September 25th, 6–9 p.m. All are welcome; RSVPs are appreciated at [email protected].
Open Hours: Saturdays, September 25 – February 1. The exhibition is also available to view by appointment. To schedule a viewing, please email [email protected].
Additional events and activations, including pop-up performances, workshops, and receptions, will be announced in the coming weeks.
About the Artist Emma Childs (b. 1996) is an American painter exploring color abstraction as a way of transforming intangible experiences and emotions into a language of layered acrylic paintings, often on shaped canvas. Childs paintings distill the complexities of human connection and emotional states using a minimalist presenting language of simplified form, color, and shape. Color is built up in layers on the canvas; choices in color and application dance between the intuitive and calculated. These shaped canvases are simultaneously images and sculptural objects, serving as containers built to give physical presence and structure to the intangible. Childs’ paintings serve as layered depictions of the worlds we build around ourselves.
Childs is based in Baltimore, MD and holds a BFA in General Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is held in public and private collections across the United States as well as the UK, France, the Netherlands, and Canada. Her work has been featured in publications including Bmore Art, New American Paintings, British Vogue, UK House and Garden, Artmaze Mag, DC Modern Luxury, Create!Mag, and Dwell Magazine.
About the Curator Teri Henderson (b. 1990, Fort Worth, Texas) is a Baltimore-based independent curator, author, arts writer, and the Operations Manager of Charm City Cultural Cultivation. A graduate of Texas Christian University, she previously served as Arts and Culture Editor of the Baltimore Beat, and her critical writing has appeared in Artforum and The Washington Post. In 2020, she founded the global platform Black Collagists (@blackcollagists). Her extensive curatorial, consulting, and jury practice includes projects with the Delaware Contemporary, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and the Association of American Publishers’ PROSE Awards, as well as serving as assistant curator for the 2025 Scout Art Fair alongside Derrick Adams. She is a fellow of the Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism Program and the Momus Emerging Critics Fellowship, and currently serves on the boards of Making Space and ART+FEMINISM.
About the Graphic Designer Born and raised in Baltimore, Annie Kozak studied Graphic Design with a minor in Textiles at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) before landing in New York City, where she now lives and works. Across every chapter, her love of bold color, pattern, and tactile design has remained constant in an aesthetic rooted in her textile background.
About UNITE Mount Vernon UNITE Mount Vernon is a community-led initiative dedicated to preserving the beauty, history, and spirit of Mount Vernon Place. The nonprofit acquired the historic Mount Vernon Place Church in July 2025 with a vision of restoring the landmark and activating it as a vibrant space for art, culture, and community. Learn more at unitemv.org.
Graphic Design: Annie Kozak
Image Credits: Emma Childs, Moongate, 2026. Acrylic on canvas, 96 x 96 in.
Photo credit: E. Brady Robinson. Courtesy of the artist.
