Emily Krill is a Pittsburgh-based artist known for large-scale collages constructed from 19th- and 20th-century paper.
Working with ledgers, letters, manuals, blueprints, and discarded documents, Krill builds layered compositions that bring together figures, objects, landscapes, and abstract forms.
“Krill’s artwork is poetic and tender – leaning into wonder, time, and intimacy,” said Zynka Gallery owner Jeff Jarzynka, who is curating her new work at Pittsburgh’s The Portal Art Gallery in Bakery Square.
Her work explores memory not as nostalgia, but as material, something handled, altered, and carried forward. Krill’s process begins with collecting historical paper that bears handwriting, stains, stamps, and marks of use.
These materials are ink-washed, cut, layered, and reassembled into carefully structured compositions. Fragments of text and pattern remain visible, allowing each work to carry traces of its previous life while forming a new visual language.
Across her practice, Krill is interested in what endures. Figures often appear seated or still, suggesting moments of pause, while familiar objects and interiors feel uncannily out of time.
Drawing from mid-century modern design and domestic ephemera, her work balances clarity and restraint with warmth and material presence. Her work has been exhibited nationally and is held in private and corporate collections, including the Pittsburgh Foundation.
Through collage, Krill considers how the past persists in material form, revealing the quiet presence of history within everyday surfaces.
