Barbara Trachtenberg

Barbara Trachtenberg, an abstract painter also working in mixed media, collage and assemblage, moved into a home studio during covid 2020-2021. She addresses social and political issues by painting over painting—layering recent and older history, re-creating its historical self in impasto. Physicality, motion and emotion dominate her work. Her statement is sardonic, direct, provocative, while sometimes, playful and lyrical. She asks viewers to find personal meaning in our current historical context—to react to and confront ambiguities. To bring their interpretations to her work. Working on multiple pieces randomly, her results are abstract narrative work in which figures emerge with visceral energy in bold colors. Process is key, as marks, texture and brushstrokes tell the story of the piece. Her work is best seen in person, in galleries and public spaces. A MacDowell Fellow, she is collaborating with a West Coast artist in an exciting political piece and hopes to return to a residency in 2022.