How many times have you wondered and asked yourself “if only these walls could talk what would they say”?

Spaces often tell the stories of those who reside within their walls, particularly private spaces like in a home. Today we speak to artist Rachael Tarravechia who tackles this idea of space and identity in the exhibition If These Walls Could Talk on July 15th at Dinner Gallery. The artist’s paintings often show interior rooms right after the inhabitants have left. For her new work, she carefully recreated photographs taken in her grandmother’s house adding in an object that feels strangely out of place such as a knife. These scenarios are meant to engage audiences and have them play with their imagination and recreate what could have happened in their mind like a movie. Tarravechia lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Your greatest inspirations or influences?

• Mickalene Thomas, Liza Lou, Jonas Wood, Andy Dixon,

• dollar stores, old horror movies (likeSuspiria), Bret Easton Ellis novels, vintage

• Architectural Digest, and Gloria Gaynor’s 1975 album Never Can Say Goodbye.

Tell us a bit about your creative process?

My work investigates the threshold of private versus public, and aims to capture fleeting, intimate moments. Moments where the room was just previously occupied, and now there are no people, no phones, no cameras, yet the aura of humanity still lingers. I look through a lot of old architectural digest magazines from the late 70’s and early 80’s for inspiration, as well as using personal photographs, and making collages of these “dream rooms.”

For the upcoming exhibition,If These Walls Could Talk, I used photographs of my grandma Jane’s ( and her husband Jerry’s) bathroom. It feels very special to be able to paint an interior that I know very well and can imagine how the tiles feel on my bare feet.

How has this year changed your creativity or how you see the world changing moving forward?

The isolation of the paSt year has given me a lot more time to create work, and really focus on what it is I want to convey with my work. I’ve always been interested in private, interior spaces, and I feel like our relationship with them changed drastically over the past year. It’s given me al ot to think about and reflect on. I don’t think the home will ever feel quite like it did before the pandemic, especially with how technology keeps progressing.

Who do you consider to be an icon of our time?

Amanda Gorman--her work is both beautiful and inspiring. Her voice is clear, and strong, and speaks volumes.

Do you think the art world needs to change, and if so how do you feel it can improve?

Definitely--the art world sometimes feels like a machine that forces you to continuously create new work so you can turn around and sell it. I struggle with trying to find a good work-life balance, and I still don’t even find time for all the things I want to accomplish. The pressure of needing to create and sell work to be able to pay rent and buy food is a burden. I struggle to find the time to read art theory and fictional books to fuel my studio practice.

What does wellbeing mean to you?

Feeling emotionally fulfilled. Being able to look around and see everything clearly. Feel clearly.I definitely think it’s a mental state of being (as opposed to physical). It’s something I strive to achieve.

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