Aurora Abzug
Aurora Abzug received her BA in Studio Art from Bard College and additional training in academic painting from The Ridgewood Art Institute. She has exhibited at such venues as The Salmagundi Club, New York, NY; San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA; New York Academy of Art, New York, NY; and Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago, IL, among many others. Her work resides in the permanent collection of Lore Degenstein Gallery at Susquehanna University. She has received mentions in the press by Artnet and Artsy. Her past residencies and awards include the AXA Art Prize (finalist), Nes Artist Residency, Skagaströnd, Iceland, and The Sable Project, Stockbridge, VT.
Collect Bean: What is something that you do to stay focused?
Aurora Abzug: I love listening to a podcast or an audiobook while I paint. My work is so particular and intensive that it can be too easy to burn out or take lots of breaks when all my attention is focused on painting. Having another input is really helpful for relaxing and focusing. I also chew gum or sip coffee constantly while I paint as a way to fidget and dispel any tension that builds.
Collect Bean: How does where you grew up influence your work?
Aurora Abzug: I was born in New York City and grew up between Manhattan and suburban New Jersey. The New York City metro area is inextricably infused with a culture of ubiquitous consumerism that has had a massive impact on my path as an artist and, in general, on how I view the world around me. If American culture at large is oversaturated with capitalist values, then the place I hail from is the most extreme example of how these values and aesthetics influence daily life. I became interested in taking on digital and consumer culture in my work because shopping and advertisements were woven into the fabric of my everyday reality. Additionally, my proximity to the fine art capital of the world has allowed me frequent access to world-class art institutions all my life and encouraged me to take painting seriously and view it as a viable career option from a very young age.
Collect Bean: Where are you currently finding inspiration?
Aurora Abzug: Brooklyn street fashion, Tumblr (as always), my friends (as always), some photos my mom just sent me of my little cousins at F.A.O. Schwartz, The Met (where my friend Anne now volunteers and invites me for a drink most Fridays), my constant daydreaming habit, and lastly, a vacation I recently took to Nova Scotia— I took a great puffin watching boat tour, and I’d love to work out a composition that involves those cute little guys.
Collect Bean: What role does art play in society, and how does your work contribute to that?
Aurora Abzug: I hadn’t really thought about this too much in the past as a tiny emerging artist, but an incident from earlier this year got me thinking about how my work impacts others on a slightly larger scale. My little sister posted a few of my stuffed animal paintings in a couple of Reddit forums for stuffed animal collectors, and the posts blew up. When I finally discovered where my small crowd of new Instagram followers had come from, I was floored by the positivity and kindness in the comments sections of these posts— I’d never seen such affirmative, appreciative comments sections anywhere on the internet! People talked about how cozy the paintings were and the warm emotions they inspired. I hope my work can continue to connect with people’s softness and joy. I would love to continue to inhabit a niche where my art makes people feel understood and embraced while also gently but firmly critiquing a culture that offers a little salve for loneliness apart from consumption. I think, in general, the purpose of artwork in society is to affirm, support, and entertain the individual viewer while challenging larger concepts and systems that undermine our connection and humanity.
Collect Bean: What role does color play in your practice?
Aurora Abzug: Recently, I’ve been working with green and pink a lot for no other reason than that they are my favorite colors. I’m super drawn to pastels and earth tones— my Pinterest boards and saved Instagram folders are full of gardens, fluffy pastel cakes, sun-bleached quilts, and seashells. I also love the punctuation of black in a painting with lots of soft, natural hues. Sometimes, when the work gets a bit too dreamy, a punch of ivory black can bring it back into the mortal realm.
Collect Bean: What is the kindest thing someone can tell you about your work?
Aurora Abzug: I love when people tell me my work makes them feel cozy or safe. I do a lot of emotional processing and reflection on my place in my larger cultural setting in my work, and I feel successful when my paintings speak to people working through similar questions and looking for comfort.
Collect Bean: How do you think your work has evolved?
Aurora Abzug: Five years ago, I was very focused on diaristic documentation. As I’ve grown and evolved in my practice, I’ve become interested in the melding of dreams and digital culture into daily life, and increasingly, I try to lean into these more spacious visual realms.
Collect Bean: Are there any recurring themes or motifs in your art, and if so, what do they represent to you?
Aurora Abzug: Cake, beer, and stuffed animals often recur in my work and have very particular symbolic associations. The cake imagery responds to the digital trend cycle and how I use mass iconography from Instagram and Tumblr to express my tastes and experiences. Beer signals the struggle between taking care of my needs as an individual and overindulgence. And the stuffed animals are direct metaphors for my relationships with friends, family, and partners.
Collect Bean: How do you balance your practice with your daily life?
Aurora Abzug: It’s challenging balancing art with my day job and home life. I recently relocated back home to pursue my art career in New York City, start a new job in art logistics, and spend time with my family as they age. While it’s been challenging adjusting to a new full-time job and sharing my space with my parents and Grandma again, I’m finding it very supportive and rewarding to engage in mutual care with my family, experience the epicenter of the art world after several years of living in smaller cities, and have my time very neatly split between my artistic practice and my day job. Having less time to make art makes me use the time I have more preciously and productively.
Collect Bean: How do you see your artwork fitting into the larger art world or art history?
Aurora Abzug: More so than contributing to art history at large, I see my work as falling in with the cultural milieu of young women making diaristic content of all forms during the first era in which social media has removed a lot of gatekeepers and centered young creatives. While I’m deeply skeptical of social media and consumer capitalism (and I hope that makes it through in my work), I think of myself as part of a school of artists whose work responds directly to the pressures and portals created by digitalization and conspicuous consumption.
