Artist on the Rise: Emilia Van Ert

Recreating actual reality is no easy task—particularly when your medium of choice takes steely precision and meticulous handiwork. That’s the case for Chamberlain native and Sioux Falls resident Emilia Van Ert, who’s just begun her foray from art student into full-time artist.

Emilia Van Ert

“I gravitate toward really detailed things,” the recent Augustana University graduate said. “I try to make things as photorealistic as possible. I’m not sure why—I just love that challenge, I guess. I feel such a sense of accomplishment when I can look at it and say, ‘I did that.’”

But Van Ert’s original collegiate interests had been more on the performing side of arts. She started as a music student at Augustana before a photography class, and her mother’s similar interests in visual arts, sent her to the visual end of the spectrum.

“The music department was intimidating to me,” she said. “And, I don’t remember this, but I guess I was into photography when I was younger—just with a crappy little camera. My mom had gone to school for art at Augustana, too, so I thought I’d give it a shot and see what happens. I took a photography class, and it’s kind of how it all happened.”

Since then, Van Ert has been recognized for her work on several fronts, from a nomination for Individual Excellence in the Arts from the Sioux Falls Arts Council in 2021, to her recent acceptance into Piper Arts’ gallery space.

“In college, I got into one of the best photography schools in the world, Spéos in Paris, France, and I didn’t get to go because it was too much money to make it work,” she said of one of her proudest accomplishments as an artist. “But it was a huge deal for me to feel like I’m decent at what I do. I always got really good feedback on my work from my professors, so that was nice, too.”

As for a signature style, Van Ert seeks to make art from life that is as true to the subject as possible, even going so far as to add complex details to the source subject to challenge herself even more.

“There’s something weird with my brain where I can’t do it any other way,” she said. “I’ve tried abstract, and I can’t do it. I have so much respect for people who can, because I just cannot. I love that when you’re done with it, it kind of looks like a photo, but better somehow. I love that about the photorealism style.

“I have been doing these roses with dew drops on them, and people really like those. I take my own photos, so what I’ll do is spray the crap out of them—they’re soaked—because I want as many details in them as possible. It’s challenging when there’s such a cluster and the petals act a certain way. That work makes me happy.”

This floral subject is a hallmark of much of Van Ert’s work, including the pieces that hang in her corner of Piper Arts. And when it comes to more humane subjects, the artist seeks out ways to tell a story whenever possible.

“I love flowers. They’re so beautiful and everyone loves them,” she said. “I like that I can pose them, whereas other subjects you can’t do that with. I can choose how they look, I can add dewdrops and make it as detailed as possible.

“With human subjects, I choose them based on how they look, but also if I like their stories. It’s a great way for me to get to know people. It feels great for that to accompany the piece and have people read someone’s story. But it’s also cool sometimes to leave a portrait up for interpretation.”

So what’s next for the artist just beginning her professional journey? Giving back and striking out on her own are two of her priorities at the moment.

“I’m a full-time artist right now, but I kind of live month to month. I would love to get to the point where I’m making enough to be comfortable and don’t have to worry so much,” she said. ”I want to do something where I’m helping other people, like a fundraiser where I put work up for auction and it goes toward a specific cause. I would really love to do that. I would love to have my own solo show.”