Essenhigh biography

Inka Essenhigh rocketed into the spotlight as a conspicuous member of the much trumpeted band of young New York painters—including Cecily Brown, Damien Loeb, Matthew Ritchie, Elizabeth Peyton and John Currin—who, although frequently grouped together as some kind of new wave, in fact have little in common apart from good looks and a penchant for pigment.

Essenhigh certainly has both of the above in abundance: her strange, smoothly executed paintings with their cast of oddly animated beings have been whipping critics and collectors into a high state of excitement, while she herself has also been racking up column inches in all the best glossies.

After an early association with the famously bullish Mary Boone ended in acrimonious breakup, Essenhigh is now happily ensconced with Chelsea’s 303 Gallery. While this side of the Atlantic she continues to enjoy a harmonious association with Victoria Miro, who first