Debra Drexler

Debra Drexler maintains studios in both New York and Oahu, and her work is informed by her unique bi-coastal experience. Her work appeared in two distinct two-person exhibitions with the icon of American abstraction, Helen Frankenthaler (Flirt: Helen Frankenthaler and Debra Drexler at Anne Kendall Richards Gallery and ART SHE SAYS salon, 2022 review Tussle Magazine) With over 30 solo and over 100 group exhibitions, she has worked with a number of galleries in New York including Front Room Gallery (solo, 2021), which represents her work. Her work engages in a feminist conversation with the history of action painting, which is informed both by participating in the contemporary resurgence of abstraction coming out of New York, and by living in the Post-Colonial Pacific for close to three decades.

In the 21st century, much of our experience is mediated through the screens of our devices. In contrast, the making and viewing of paintings remains a direct, immersive experience. I aim to take us to a state of timelessness that is primal in its humanity, disconnecting us momentarily from the mediated "now" of our electronic devices, and connecting us to a "now" that gives us a glimpse of the infinite. It is painting that challenges through its brazen sincerity, abandonment of the ego, and ancient materiality. Numerous layers, which contrast areas of depth and flatness, organic and synthetic color, matt and gloss surfaces, create complex spatial interactions. In places, the bare canvas is allowed to shine through, while other zones of the painting are encased in over forty layers of paint. The edges of the mark tell the story of excavation, history, and time. Sometimes the same brushstroke in the same place is repeated over and over, belying the illusion of spontaneity it presents. As a colorist, I provoke unexpected color relationships and the spatial contradictions that come from those interactions. Color has the ability to communicate on many levels simultaneously, spatially creating depth and push-pull, through the dynamics of temperature, saturation, and focus. My palette is influenced by the ability of color to convey place, culture, spirituality, psychology, emotion, technology, gender, and history. For example, I frequently use hot pink, a color with heavily gendered associations. My hot pink brushstrokes reference the "heroic" marks associated with Action Painting, and feminize them. The color palette also is influenced by the flora and fauna of Hawai'i, and it's endangered eco-system. The luminosity and high key saturation in my work are created through multiple layers of glazing of pigment mixed with polymer and alkyd media. Some of my color choices reference the post digital experience with its highly saturated synthetic color. The luminosity and saturation also mirror the unique quality of light and the over-the-top, tropical color interactions in Hawai'i, where I have been living since 1992. In addition, I am a daily meditator, and vibrancy of color references the experience of inner light and vibrant color I see when I meditate. I am interested in synesthesia, and the potential for color to directly transport the viewer to another state of awareness. My work is driven by an athletic painting process, where I work back and forth between the floor and the wall. The marks are made with the entire body, in choreography with the canvas. Working on the floor allows for gestural sweeps, applications of thin glazes, and pooling of paint. I am interested in the viscosities of paint that can be achieved through varying medium and application. The scale is often human sized or larger, creating an expansive experience, immersing the viewer within the frame of the painting.