Deborah Everett has lived and worked in New York City since 1982. Her work is figural and often narrative. The work is characterized by strong, rich color and active textures, both of which can lend her images a very tactile feeling.
Having grown up in the American Southwest, she has always been influenced by her memories of its vast, spreading spaces, rock formations, caves, and overhangs… And as her childhood was spent in relative isolation, spaces (and the features of specific spaces) became her companions. The images she creates in paint or pencil marks can often be deserted, and then the spaces themselves (moody landscapes or puzzling interiors) can become the protagonists of the narrative. There may also be abstracted ‘figures’ (geometric shapes, vegetable-like forms, plant life, etc.…) that become the characters of a story.
Space, for her, is a psychological and emotional experience that often defines who we are as soon as we enter it – it can set the tone for whatever happens within it. But spaces also reflect our influence on them and the traces of their interactions with us. Accordingly, a good portion of Everett’s work addresses the presence and effects of climate change on the natural world.
Artist Statement
“The way I structure and express my worldview often reflects the influence of numerous artists I admire: Philip Guston, Eva Hesse, Frida Kahlo, Ursula von Rydingsvard, van Gogh, Giotto, and others.”