In my painting practice, I strive to explore the fluidity of life in an increasingly unstable world; the shifting relationship of humanity and nature and the interactions between the real and spiritual. Mythic narratives are drawn from the material of my life; my identity, my diverse family, my love of nature and the imagery of the unconscious. This personal view helps unearth universal themes of feminism, isolation, eroticism, mortality and perseverance as I strive to create tableaus that are evocative and surprising. Through an intuitive process of discovery, I improvise in oil on canvas: erasing, rebuilding, applying layers of pigment and spontaneous brushwork as each work determines its own direction.
Bio
Tracy McFarlane is a New York based artist, born in Illinois, who received her BA from Connecticut College with majors in studio art and English. There she focused on drawing, printmaking and photography, and was accepted into the Silvermine Guild in 1985. Early in her career, she printed at the Soho Graphic Arts workshop and exhibited her work in group and solo shows in Connecticut and New York. A successful career as an advertising creative director followed where she produced global campaigns, developing a creative process that she still carries with her. Several years ago, she began a full-time studio practice as a painter, had a 6 month art residency at Trestle Studios in 2019, and showed her work in the Gowanus and South Brooklyn Open Studio shows. She is now pursuing her lifelong dream of earning an MFA.
Exhibits and Residencies
2018–2022 Self-employed Creative Director and Artist
1/2019-7/2019 Trestle Artist Residency, Brooklyn, NY
2019 South Brooklyn Open Studios, Trestle Art Space, Brooklyn, NY
2018 Gowanus Open Studio Show, Trestle Art Space, Brooklyn, NY
1985 Soho Graphic Arts Workshop Exhibition, New York, NY
1985 36th Art of Northeast USA Exhibition, Silvermine, CT
1978–1986 Soho Graphic Arts Workshop, NYC, printmaker
Gallery affliliation: Silvermine Guild Galleries, New Canaan, CT
Various solo and group shows in NYC and Connecticut
Education
2021–present Brooklyn College, MFA program, Painting and Drawing, Class of 2023
2020 NY Studio School, Continuing education
2018–2019 NY Academy of Art, Continuing education
2000 School of Visual Arts, Continuing education
1980 NY Academy of Art, Continuing education
1978 Connecticut College, New London, CT, B.A. in Studio Art and English
Private collections in USA and Europe