Born and raised in Poughkeepsie, NY, Emily Ritz took an interest in the arts at a very young age. Today her work spans across mediums including painting, drawing, music, video, ceramics, tattoo and embroidery. Since childhood, Ritz’s endless curiosity and desire to express herself by making things has resulted in a consistent, rigorous creative practice of over 20 years. Trained as a painter and in film making and self taught in music, Ritz uses a mix of intuition and fine tuned skills to bring her visions to life.
Coming from a lineage of prolific textile artists, Ritz's visual work is marked by intricate patterns and repetition making for a soothing practice. She builds textured, sensual imagery layer by layer, detail by tiny detail blurring the boundaries between body and Earth, strength and vulnerability, pleasure and pain. On the surface, her paintings are corporeal stories with her subjects in a state of metamorphosis, be they plant, animal or human. The figures in her paintings are submitting to a natural world without struggle, a metaphysical journey accessible through the human body as a portal to the spiritual. Essentially Ritz’s art externalizes her inner world, creating a surreal parallel universe to live vicariously through. Emily, who has suffered from autoimmune disease since childhood, finds parallels between her physical pain and the pain of a deteriorating Earth. Fragile yet resilient, it is a kinship built on shared vulnerability and powerlessness. Simultaneously finding a wealth of inspiration and wisdom from the natural world and grieving its destruction, Ritz surrenders her body to it. In a way her work is a profound apology.
Emily Ritz started writing songs at 15 years old. After moving to the Bay Area for art school she found her community in the music scene. Forming bands Honeycomb, an eight piece including vibraphone and four other singers, and Yesway, a duo with Kacey Johansing, Ritz made her first few studio albums and toured internationally. She then went on to independently release two records under her own name while living back east in Hudson, NY.
For her new project Tenderoni, Ritz has reinvented how she records and performs. The shows act more as performance art presentations of the music. Using video elements, a headlamp and commercials for businesses that don't exist, Ritz taps into a more expansive and light hearted expression than previous projects. It is also Ritz's first time self recording in her bedroom using only a midi keyboard, drum machine and guitar. Jill Ryan's brilliant saxophone and flute elevate all eight songs. The production is lo-fi and playful while exploring themes of rebirth, desiring love during climate crisis and reflecting on past lives. Half of the tracks feature audio clips of Emily as a child talking to her mom and dad. Many of the homespun music videos use footage from the hundreds of VHS tapes Emily's late father shot during her early childhood. Ultimately Tenderoni is a collaboration between Ritz, her dad and her own inner child. The short and sweet album Tenderoni is out everywhere <3