Multimedia artist Dylan Rose Rheingold (dylanroserheingold.com) gets candid about her artistic journey, major milestones and new studio space in the city.
Dylan Rose Rheingold in her Manhattan studio space
Let’s start at the beginning. Can you tell us about your artistic background and what initially drew you to mixed media?
I first started mixing materials on large-scale canvas during my time in Florence, Italy. I studied painting and screen printing there for four months in 2018. I used to think that there was some sort of rule that claimed if I were to incorporate mediums—like crayon or marker (that made me feel nostalgic to my adolescence)—that people wouldn’t take my work seriously or consider it a ‘painting.’ But now I have definitely crossed that bridge and am mixing materials in a nontraditional manner with pride. My form also carries the same meaning as my storyline. In a way, it is depicting and enacting as a way to reinforce my own mixed background.
Where do you find the most inspiration for your work?
Storytelling. Most of my inspiration comes from memories and personal experiences of mine and those who are close to me within day-to-day life. Through a nonlinear narrative I’m exploring this idea of ‘otherness’ through a feminine lens. More specifically, digging deeper into the transitional stage of girlhood to womanhood and childhood to adulthood, and all of the diaristic, coming-of-age emotions within this invisible state.
Dylan Rose Rheingold, “Cloud Nine” (2023, acrylic, oil stick, spray paint, china marker on canvas), 70 inches by 60 inches
What are some common themes or techniques that run throughout your work?
As my work is identity based, I would say that common themes include girlhood, memory, nostalgia and this idea of the outsider. My work gravitates toward very mundane and banal spaces that become activated thr ough the exaggeration of the details and defects that stray fr om traditional social constructs and standards and the sliding scale of emotions during this dynamic stage of life.
You create a variety of mediums including sketches, paintings and more. Can you talk about the differences and similarities of each?
My painting process is defined within drawing, so regardless of the materials I am working with, or on, stylistically everything has the same visual language. It involves the layering of acrylic, oil, china marker, pastel, charcoal, spray paint, marker and ink. Whether that be on canvas, wood panel or paper, the dialogue is the same.
From left: Dylan Rose Rheingold, “Hog Flee” (2022, acrylic, oil stick, latex, pastel, colored pencil on canvas), 71 inches by 57 inches; “On a Horse with No Name” (2023, acrylic, oil stick, latex, spray paint on canvas), 71 inches by 57 inches.
How would you categorize the type of work you make or the genre of your style?
Stylistically I’m somewhere in between abstract figuration and surrealism. I’m striving to build a bridge.
Can you walk us through your artistic schedule? Are you creating every day, or only when inspiration hits?
I try to have a standard studio schedule Monday through Friday, but it’s hard to pinpoint when you will feel inspired or experience a sweet spot while creating. It’s really helpful for me also to make time to look at other artists’ works or forms that differ from mine. Watching an old film, reading a book, frequenting a conceptual assemblage exhibition or even just on the subway, watching how people interact. I often get inspiration from everyday life and the domestic spaces and interiors we coexist in. I try to always be working though and balance a couple different projects or ideas at once. Since my main focus is drawing, I’m not limited to only working in the studio either. I keep a sketchbook on me at all times.
I believe the last time we spoke, you were working on your book, A Line of Thought, which is a collection of drawings and works on paper. How has your career blossomed since then?
Yes! A great deal of evolution has occurred since then. ... I received my master’s in fine arts from the School of Visual Arts and have gallery representation with Jupiter Contemporary down in Miami. Things have been very busy. Straight after postgrad I started as a studio assistant for one of my favorite artists and activists, Marilyn Minter. From then on, I began showing in group shows and art fairs throughout New York, Miami, L.A., Berlin, London, China and Mexico City.
From left: Dylan Rose Rheingold, “Two Sides of the Same Coin” (2023, acrylic, sumi ink, charcoal pigment, marker, glitter on canvas), 65 inches by 65 inches; “Fairest of the Fair She Is” (2023, acrylic, oil stick, pastel, marker on canvas), 65 inches by 65 inches.
Congratulations on your new studio in New York! What can you tell us about the space?
Thank you! My studio is located in the heart of Midtown in the Garment District. Every morning when I get off the subway at 42nd Street, I think about the movie Midnight Cowboy and old New York. Natural light pours through both windows all day long so I am incredibly grateful.
Do you have any milestone moments you can share?
I just had my first international solo show last month in Rome, Italy, at T293 Gallery. It was so special to be back exhibiting in Italy and to see how my paintings were speaking to people, when my own words could not translate.
Are there any upcoming projects or exhibitions you can buzz for the summer?
My next solo show will be at M+B Gallery in Los Angeles this October. I’m stoked to share this new body of work as it’s the most playful one yet.
Photography by: PHOTO BY ELLEN LEE, PHOTO COURTESY OF T293 GALLERY, PHOTOS COURTESY OF T293 GALLERY, PHOTOS COURTESY OF T293 GALLERY,
