ANGELA FRALEIGH

In a style that weaves together realism and abstraction, Angela Fraleigh creates works that range from intimate portraits to monumental figure paintings. Exploring themes of gender, sexuality, femininity, and power dynamics, Fraleigh’s artworks feature women who are no longer forgotten historical figures or background characters bound by male-dominated narratives. The women Fraleigh depicts become daring protagonists in stories of their own.

She conjures the power of mythological women, figures which buck against the systems that demand their silence rather than resilience. Fraleigh works with museums to research their collections and retells the stories therein through the women’s perspectives. Through these adapted historical paintings with a contemporary lens, she corrects the misconception that women haven’t contributed to the culture, and points out that this was due to lack of access.

Plucked from old master works, or straight from New York history, the heroines of these artworks have been removed from their original contexts and gifted autonomy within the dreamscape-like realms of Fraleigh’s paintings. These immersive painted environments combine swirling abstract spaces and bold voids of color—the seen with the unseen. Fleshy forms are obscured by vibrant pours of color or lavish gold-leaf designs, while turned heads and cropped faces tease mysterious narratives of desire and whispered secrets.