Rachel Phillips

Photography by Drew Reynolds. Interview done by Jenn Dierdorf. Art courtesy of the artist (Rachel Phillips) and Microscope Gallery.

How were you first introduced to art?

From a very early age I spent a considerable amount of time drawing. I am the youngest of nine children. For me drawing was a way to engage with what was going on as well as escape it – In terms of engagement, as a child who did not speak often I was able exist and process whatever chaos might be happening. I was able to express myself without having to shout to be heard.

Why did you choose to pursue art professionally?

I had an art teacher in high school named Inez Starr. She was a real character. She said she used to be a beatnik and came from NYC. She smoked, made fun of the principle. I thought she was great. Anyway she helped me put together a portfolio for college. I applied to Tyler School of Art. The two known art schools to me at the time were Tyler and Moore College of Art in Philadelphia.

When I went to college I thought I would be an illustrator or graphic designer, maybe make children’s books. I thought that would be my kind of way of pursuing art. I started painting and that was it for me- no more graphic design. I was having a hard time during college and painting and drawing felt like a lifeboat. I also happened to have some really good teachers.

While your work has parts that are, or become abstract, there is also a recognizable cartoon style. Does this imagery come only from your imagination or do you use actual cartoon references, or other references, when you paint?

The cartoons mostly come from my imagination but they are certainly informed by images from my childhood or things I see around me. Growing up we had this ashtray or knickknack lying around that had this funny lady on it with a big nose and big hat and above her were the words “Congratulations on yer swell new place! Guess now we gotta wipe our feet.” I notice her character pops up from time to time.

You’ve talked about how painting allows a space for you to explore non-linear narratives and disparate ideas within a single piece. Can you elaborate on any specific things that come up in your work?

I don’t usually know how I will start an image or a painting. Sometimes I have an idea that translates and sometimes it doesn’t. In the painting “Bananas” I remember thinking about theater, a stage, an unreal space, this was translated by the green background. I don’t know if that comes across in any way to the viewer or not. One of the reasons I think the big simplified characters worked was because of that color. Also I was thinking about the “Peanuts” so like one of the shirts was painted with “Charlie Brown” in mind. The fact that the title is called “Bananas” really comes from people pointing to the yellow lips on the face and calling them bananas. To me those lips were referencing the different color lipsticks girls were wearing. There are so many different references in that painting yet overall I guess there is an overall absurd humor and a psychological impasse. So to go back to your question about my work and the exploration of a non-linear narrative… It is this way partly due to my process and perhaps my short attention span where I keep jumping from one thing to another.

Why do you think it’s important to view these disconnected things together?

I don’t necessarily think it is important to view these things together but rather it is a result of my process. The more time I work on a painting the more layered it becomes. These layers or changes are like music woven into a song, this similarly happens in a painting. Sometimes a painting is more simple like a three cord song regardless, at a certain point it’s the painting that dictates how it will be.

The characters that pop up in your work seem to be trapped in absurdity. They often seem fractured but malleable. In your artist statement you mention your archetypal character of The Witch. What is their role in your paintings?

When Trump was elected president I started introducing a more blatant character of the witch to explore my existential dread. In the painting “Girl Split in Two” I was channeling Kellyann Conway.

Are there other symbolic characters that return in your work?

Characters come and go. A lot of times the character is me but I change. Sometimes a witch sometimes a clown.

Something people may not know about your work if they haven’t seen it in person is that many of them are composed of lots of different materials and textures. Can you talk about other, less conventional materials you use?

There is a collage element to my work. I mainly do it to hype up a feeling. I think I am influenced by computer imaging that has created vibrant and hyper-real imagery. Whether it is a magazine image, glitter or an artificial eye I am creating another way to instill color or texture into my work. It plays against the flatness of the paint in an interesting way.

I’ve always loved your garish choice of colors. For me it’s a clear decision you seem to have made, not to lull the viewer in with beautiful harmonizing colors, but rather create even more visual tension with clashing colors and shapes. Is color intuitive for you? How do you make those choices?

I am emotionally attached to my colors. If I try to use color in a traditional sense or use a more scientific approach placing one color next to another to see how they visually pair I ruin the emotional intentions of the painting.

What’s coming up for you next?

Two things happened for me recently, I became represented by a New York Gallery, Microscope Gallery and I was just accepted to a really awesome art residency that I will be attending in the Spring.