Emerson’s professional life began outside the art world, with roles in newspaper design, activism, and carpentry. Carpentry became a turning point, leading him to work as a general contractor and sparking a lasting interest in materials and structure. His intellectual curiosity later led him to earn a degree in political science and then education, enabling him to teach both shop and social studies.
Emerson began seriously engaging with art while teaching overseas, which led him to earn a Master’s in Art Education from BU and an MFA from MICA. In Baltimore’s vibrant artistic community he shifted from representational work to concept-driven practice grounded in politics, social issues, and industrial design.
For Emerson, making art is a necessity—an outlet for ideas that arrive as pressures rather than inspirations. His methodical process distills complex, overwhelming concepts into precise, confrontational forms.
Emerson’s Suicide Pact series, shown in Washington, D.C., examines the absurdity of Cold War nuclear policy. Hans Haacke called it “some of the most political artworks I have seen,” while a U.S. Department of Energy official described it as “the most beautifully horrifying accumulation of our department’s work over the last 70 year
His Route & Rhythm series explores motion, order, and industrial systems. A Japan Railfan Club member (鉄道友の会) remarked, “it visually captures the obsession not with trains as much as with the system itself.”
Emerson’s path to art grew from a mix of disciplines and experiences. Raised in northern Canada by a single, immigrant mother, he was shaped by economic hardship and a drive to understand a world outside of his control. Now based in Osaka, he balances his art practice with his role as an art educator at Kwansei University and works from a self-built home and studio shared with his wife and two children.
D. EMERSON MYERS
contact@emersonmyersart.com
EXHIBITION RECORD
Solo Shows
Route & Rhythm, 2025, GR Kitano Art Gallery, Kobe, Japan.
Destinations, 2014, Baltimore World Trade Center Tower Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Cartographic Compositions, 2014, Delaplaine Art Gallery, Fredrick, Maryland, USA
Tokyo, 2013, Ruther Marder Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Group Shows
WAC Exhibition, 2017, Ressei, Kyoto, Japan
Three People Three Dimensions, 2016, In-Line Gallery, Osaka, Japan
The 13th Annual Art Inter/National Exhibition, 2014, Boxheart Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Printmaking Exhibition, 2013, Lockhart Gallery, SUNY, Geneseo NY, USA
Under Pressure, Juried Printmaking Exhibition, 2013, West Windsor Art Center, Trenton, NJ, USA
Bold in Black and White, 2013, Blue Line Arts Gallery, Sacramento, USA
Art Angels Art Night, 2013, Hickok Cole, Washington DC, USA
Memento Mori, 2013, Project Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Beyond the Threshold, 2013, S Art Space, Sohotel Gallery, Manhattan NY, USA
Architexture, 2013, Project Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Twisted, 2013, Project Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Story Book Poem Illustration Exhibition, 2012, West North 5th Gallery, Baltimore, USA
Fred Lazarus IV Building Exhibition, 2012, T. Rowe Price Gallery, Baltimore, USA
Mount Royal Exhibition, 2012, Riggs Gallery, Baltimore, USA
My Space Juried Show, 2010, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Lakehead University Juried Show, 2003, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Canada
Lakehead University Juried Show, 2002, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Canada
Public Collections
The Butler Institute of American Art
Prizes and Media
Celeste Prize 2014 Special selected, Sculpture, #Inches (100 Kilotons)(#Layers)=YIELD
Artworks, Baltimore PTV Season 3, Episode 6, November 6, 2014 - Featured Artworks
Infinity Art Gallery, Figurative Expo 2013 Winner
Artist Portfolio Magazine Full Page Feature, 2013
Interview, Hartiska, NY Fashion and Arts Magazine, 2013
Tokyo/International Rock Challenge, Best Stage Set Design Award, 2009
Ceramics Association Prize, Thunder Bay Ontario, 2002
North Country Prize for Ceramics, 2002
STUDIO IN OSAKA
