In Good Company: Phyllis Bramson

An ongoing series of short interviews with artists that we work with or admire called “In Good Company.” Answers are lightly edited for length and clarity.

Location: Chicago, IL

Hometown: Madison, WI

Education: BFA from University of IL, Urbana
MA from University of Wisconsin, Madison and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Favorite Color: Any paint that is the color of flesh, usually a rather light dusky pink

Hobby: Ceramic heads and figurines

As a child, did you know you wanted to be an artist? If not, what did you want to be? 

Honestly there was nothing else that captured my attention. This is where I excelled from the beginning, and my parents both encouraged and facilitated it.

Have you had any jobs outside of the art world? If so, how have those jobs informed your work as an artist?

Well, of course. Teaching that has been very important--I taught for 22 years at University of Illinois, Chicago. There, I learned everything I hadn’t from my art education.  I found teaching to be fascinating, fun, annoying, and significant. Before teaching at the University, I was a window designer at the old Marshall Fields in Chicago. It was a fantastic job as the windows could be quite elaborate and were done from scratch. There was a carpenter shop, painters shop, and a large warehouse with objects to use. It was so theatrical, and of course mostly figure-involved. They were like staged sets, which my paintings often resemble.

What is your favorite non-art object in your studio right now? Why do you have it?

Everything seems to be an art object, whether it is or not!

What has been a defining moment of your artistic career so far?

Receiving a Guggenheim grant and also exhibiting a retrospective at the Chicago Cultural Center.

How do you measure your own success in the art world?

That is difficult for me to say. I am still working on this. Still with a vital studio practice, I continue to strive to make better paintings, still pushing, pushing, pushing.

If you were placing artwork in an office, what three artists would you be most excited to work with?

Kerry James Marshall, Luc Tuymans, and Jennifer Packer

To see more of Phyllis Bramson’s work, check out her website or Instagram.

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