Andrea Luper
Twenty-eight-year-old Alaska-born painter, Andrea Luper came to NYC to attend SVA as a Silas H. Rhodes scholarship recipient, graduating in 2022 with a BFA in illustration. Somewhere between Bouguereau and Bob’s Burgers, Luper paints the nude with equal parts mockery and reverence of the tradition.
She looks for authenticity in private moments, each work, a colorful and cathartic exploration of her own experiences, fueled by feminism and critical of capitalist efforts to colonize our dwindling attention spans. With compassion and humor, she highlights the overwhelm of modern millennial life.
Collect Bean: What does growth mean to you?
Andrea Luper: Growth to me means being honest with myself as I continue to change, and allowing that change without fighting it. To continue to be free in how I express myself, when every day I might be a different person, and letting my drawings reflect that back to me. Growth means never staying the same, yet letting my experience deepen like roots. My leaves change color, fall, and come back again differently each year. I am excited to see how they look this next time around. :)
Collect Bean: What does your painting process look like from start to finish?
Andrea Luper: Everything comes from drawing. Drawing is where I pour all of the mess out of my head, and every once in a while, there’s a gem in the muck. I pluck those little gems that speak to me and turn them into paintings. Drawing is a judgment-free place to let your thoughts be wild and as ugly as they need to be. Painting is the refinery for these curated thoughts.
Collect Bean: How does where you grew up influence your work?
Andrea Luper: This is an interesting question. I think in many ways my work is a rejection of where I grew up - being an artist in Alaska means a limited audience, where the works primarily consist of its regional muses (AKA ravens, mountains, bears, birch trees, etc.) my work struggled to find a home there, yet surely growing up there influences my work a great deal. I think it fostered a certain rugged determination and boldness with being unabashedly transparent. I think that is something common amongst people there.
Collect Bean: What is one of your current goals as an artist?
Andrea Luper: I am absolutely itching to have a solo show. I have been working on this current body of work for a couple of years now, and it's nearing its completion. I am eager to show them all together somewhere!
Collect Bean: How do you balance your practice with your daily life?
Andrea Luper: Balance?? No such thing. Between working full time, dedicated studio practice after work and on weekends, and going out with friends and to shows, my life is full to the brim. Sleep sometimes has to take a back seat, but I have no complaints. (though maybe part-time would be nice…)
Collect Bean: How do you think your work has evolved?
Andrea Luper: I think my work has evolved into honesty. My earlier work was very conceptual and serious but felt divorced from who I was as a goofy person. As I began to grow into my work (still growing!!) I just let my unfiltered thoughts and experiences flow into my drawings, and the work took on a much more relatable and emotive quality. I’m excited to see where this leads me next!
