Phil Rabovsky
What was the last thing you made?
I am currently between studios, so I tacked a large canvas up on the wall of my living room and painted a life-sized turkey vulture. These gentlemanly undertakers are the only animals I see outside my window both here in New York and in Chile.
What was the last thing you read?
Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams.
What was the last exhibition you saw?
Paige Beeber at Freight + Volume Gallery in Tribeca. She is an incredible painter.
Who do you most admire?
People that are unafraid of being unpopular. In art: Alice Neel and Philip Guston. In politics: Bernie Sanders and Rashida Tlaib.
How has your practice changed?
I'm still trying to figure that out. I started out in a very conventional Old Master style that eventually led to life-sized nudes in empty space. I still paint that way from time to time, but after I saw the Brooklyn Museum's show of Basquiat's notebooks, everything changed. I lost my patience with ye olden ways and started painting expressionist-like works in thick, black paint. So far as I can tell, the only common factor has been the love of painting.
What motivates your practice?
History. Can it really be over when so much remains undone? As long as artists are searching for something new, the answer is, "not yet."
Your favorite artwork made before your lifetime?
I used to say, Leonardo's Virgin and Child with Saint Anne. Now maybe it's Franz Kline.
Your favorite artwork made during your lifetime?
Carol Bove, Matthew Wong, and Josh Smith.