"The Outwin 2016" Finalist: Lucy Fradkin

Out of over 2,500 entries in the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, 43 artists have their work shown in the exhibition “The Outwin 2016: American Portraiture Today.” Read more about one of the finalists, Lucy Fradkin.

What about the sitter inspired you?

This is a portrait of my Jamaican-born husband, the sculptor Arthur Simms.  Since 1991 when we met while both working at the Bronx Museum in New York, Arthur has inspired me as an artist and human being.

What made you decide to depict this sitter as you did?

Arthur’s beloved mother Icema had a stroke and was not doing well.  We believe she has Indian heritage in her background, as do many Jamaicans.  As a tribute to her I painted Arthur in the context of an Indian miniature painting.

What relationship do the materials have to the meaning?

There is particular significance in the hand stitching of metallic thread.  Not only is this part of a series that I have been working on for the past few years, it is also reminiscent of my mother-in-law’s work in embroidery.

How does the piece fit within your larger body of work?

Since 1998 I have focused on creating portraits of a broad range of individuals, painted in oil or gouache on paper.  With sources ranging from the ancient frescoes and mosaics of Etruria, Rome and Byzantium to Indian and Persian miniatures, from vernacular, hand-painted signage to folk art, my paintings capture timeless moments through a contemporary lens. Consciously rooting my works in the tradition of genre painting, I place figures in domestic settings. Though my work is clearly inspired by traditional art forms, I maintain its relevance through the quiet presentation of issues of gender and race, informed by personal history.

I use color and pattern in my paintings to evoke emotion, to tell stories of daily life and to draw the viewer into an intimate world.  In many of my works, I add collaged decorative elements, sourced from old catalogs, field guides and vintage books, which I meticulously incorporate into the intricate designs.

You can see Fradkin’s work in “The Outwin 2016: American Portraiture Today,” up now through Jan. 8, 2017. Also, be sure to vote in our People’s Choice Competition.