Abigail Drapkin grew up exploring the forests of Midcoast Maine, but for the past ten years, she has lived in cities--Boston, San Francisco, and now Seattle. Her paintings are rooted in observation and adapt to her location. Since the stay-at-home order due to the Covid-19 pandemic was implemented, she seeks inspiration in the windows, spaces, and everyday objects that surround her. Using her own body as a model, her recent paintings express sentiments of isolation and confinement through interior scenes depicting life on pause. Previous works, including her series, Fairy Tales of the Anthropocene, have explored fictional narratives based in the real stories of human indifference and outright destruction of the natural world.

Abigail received her MFA in Painting + Drawing from the University of Washington in 2019 and her BA in Studio Art and French from Brandeis University in 2012. Abigail lives in Seattle where she teaches painting and printmaking independently and through Gage Academy of Art and the University of Washington. Previously, she taught fine art classes at the Northwest School Summer Camp, Artworks Fine Art Studio in San Francisco, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Website: www.abigaildrapkin.com
Instagram: @abigaildrapkinart

Artwork by Abigail Drapkin

Gage Academy of Art acknowledges the Coast Salish Peoples as the original inhabitants of this area and connecting waterways. We understand the land that Gage occupies is unceded territory and that today many Indigenous peoples live here and without their stewardship, we would not have access to this space. We honor the Coast Salish Peoples’ sovereignty, rights to self-determination, culture and ways of life. Since time immemorial, Indigenous peoples have called this territory their sacred land. We commit to learning, educating others and repairing the legacy of historically harmful relationships between non-Native and Native peoples in King County. In doing so, we will be honest, and recognize the experiences of Native peoples to include genocide, forced relocation, forced assimilation, and land theft. We also acknowledge Native peoples are survivors, present in today’s world, thriving. We encourage everyone here today to ask themselves: what can I do to support Indigenous communities?

In an effort to be transparent, Gage is contemplating this call to action and re-working how to best support Indigenous communities.

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