RACHEL DEACON
Marking connections
From a young age artist Rachel Deacon found herself fascinated with painting women. She not only depicts the beauty she finds in the contours and compositions of their shapes, but also translates how she views them—“as strong, seductive, powerful beings.” She says she has been “transfixed by the differences between them and the changes within them when confronted with different sets of circumstances.”
Deacon cites a quote from essayist Anaïs Nin as a concept she is drawn to. It states, “I take pleasure in my transformations. I look quiet and consistent, but few know how many women there are in me.”
March 24 to April 8, Deacon will have her debut solo exhibition at RJD Gallery in Bridgehampton, New York. The pieces will highlight the attributes and beauty of women. Many of the works are also inspired by the written word; they are not an exact representation, but rather Deacon’s own interpretation of the sentiments.
At That Hour, of a woman lying awake in bed, came from James Joyce’s poem of the same name. “His enigmatic verse suggests a silent, almost lonely time, when the world is asleep where we find stillness and love,” says Deacon. “My imagining is that this is a time for us to decide on our own dreams and embrace the possibilities of solitude.”
Another of her pieces, Lost Days, was inspired by a quote from a Mary Oliver poem that reads:
As long as you’re dancing, you can break the rules.
Sometimes breaking the rules is just extending the rules.
Sometimes there are no rules.
The painting, of three women dancing around a room, interprets the “notion of a few exquisite stolen hours, those hedonistic times taken for ourselves.”
Tryst is a painting that “celebrates women’s sexuality and makes no apology for being erotic,” says Deacon. While another
painting, Without Beginning or End, “evokes the feeling of being inside an enchanted forest, somewhere with limitless possibilities, where improbable things could occur.”
In all of Deacon’s paintings, viewers will notice a strong sense of narrative. It is one that takes place both on the canvas and out of view. The women she portrays— and occasionally men if they are vital to the story—are interacting with the entire surroundings. Deacon adds, “This is where the viewers’ imagination comes into play and the work becomes their own.”