Tracy Phillips

My paintings explore themes/subjects that are a part of an ever-expanding personal iconography. I engage both figurative and abstract imagery that hold in common narratives that touch on psychological and environmental themes.

I have always had a deep connection to nature.  I am also a psychotherapist which gives me the opportunity to intimately witness the depths of human experience.  My paintings are a place I can explore my relationship to both of these interests.  My process is intuitive, combining abstract and recognizable imagery.  I explore personal forms that often lead to something new being revealed which can become a new direction.

My current work is driven by a deep sorrow regarding the human impact on, and my fear of what seems to be the inevitable destruction of life on this planet. My earlier work around this theme was more naturalistic, related to climate change and extreme weather events. The work over the last couple of years, takes this theme into a future when people are no longer here.  In these imagined landscapes I engage the notion of earth’s eventual regeneration.

Prior to moving my studio to the Catskills in 2015, I spent almost 40 years in Brooklyn where I developed my painting practice. My work has been shown in a number of solo and group exhibitions locally, nationally and internationally. I studied Fine Art at Parsons School of Design, graduating in 1983.