Abigail Drapkin

Windows and Porches, 2020 - 2026

 

I worked on “The Table” in the months before and after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. As life drew inward, the objects on the table evolved into staples we had left in our cupboards: onion, garlic, rice. The daily newspaper and the window were sources of information and connection.In the months that followed, my work centered on still life and self-portraiture, often combining the two rather awkwardly in oil paintings large and small. The color palettes somber, the objects strewn about, the window cast a cool light on my subjects in contrast to the warm glow inside. The window also became a compositional tool, framing and flattening the landscapes beyond, and a place for experimentation. How could I combine the inside and outside in one painting?

 

I drew ideas from Pierre Bonnard, Edvard Munch and Frantisek Kupka, all painters of solitary figures, but I flipped the male gaze. I focused on the female subject from a female perspective, lending importance to her quiet moments and inward landscapes. As family and friends came back into my life, they came back into my paintings too. I painted my sister, my mother, and my close friends with gratitude. The women I painted work hard at careers and as caregivers. I honored them through labor-intensive oil painting, capturing flyaway hairs and the landscapes out the window, just beyond their steady gaze.