Barbara Trachtenberg, A Woman Speaks
A Woman Speaks
acrylic on canvas
20 x 24 x 1
Website: https://www.barbaratrachtenberg.com
Instagram: @Barbara.trachtenberg
About | Barbara Trachtenberg is a gestural abstract expressionist artist using paint and mixed media. Throughout 20 years, as a white American octogenarian with a background in writing, ethnography and immigrant issues, process is key. Not Thinking, gesture, frustration and curiosity drive her work. She moves tempestuously on a large canvas, compelled to break through excitement and anxiety that lands her onto the canvas. Thick, embedded, layered textures push through old fear of not speaking up. There is no answer to anything - life is ambiguity, suffering and joy, confusion and clarity. She knows the fear and desire of sailing into life like a ship while knowing she can drown. Yet, joy creeps into lyrical collages, balancing the adventure of creating from scratch. Trachtenberg's recent work addresses feelings around aging, intimate and global violence and speaking up. Facing threats of being washed ashore, she muscles up her shoulders. Torn cloth and dripped ink reveal a radiant Ukrainian city, decimated. She knows her privilege of not having faced the worst. Her work is influenced by personal and family history and the rhythmic strength of poetry.
$1,500.00