Trish Tillman

Trish Tillman is a New York City–based visual artist and writer. She received an MFA from the School of Visual Arts and a BFA from James Madison University. Recent exhibitions include Asya Geisberg Gallery, NYC; Andrew Rafacz, Chicago, IL; Good Naked, NYC; BravinLee Projects, NYC; COUNTY, Palm Beach, FL; Delaware Contemporary, Wilmington, DE; and Museum of Contemporary Art, Arlington, VA. Tillman is a recipient of a Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant, the Hopper Prize, Fountainhead Residency, and The Mildred Thompson Residency. She has been featured in UNTITLED, NADA, and Future Art Fairs. Her work has been reviewed in ARTFORUM, Sculpture Magazine, Vogue, and Juxtapose, among others.


Artist Statement

My work explores how memory physically manifests in the body, shaping our identity, behavior, and idea of social norms. I mix aspects of childhood, like games, toys, and cartoons, with elements of interior décor and fashion to highlight how learned behaviors are deeply ingrained into our psyche from an early age. My aesthetic is influenced by the created vibes of nightclubs, cabarets, and the DIY punk and activist spaces I frequented growing up, where community, anger, and a hunger for change found expression through sound, style, and solidarity. I use upholstery techniques to emulate the mood of these spaces of entertainment, giving a physical presence to our performative gestures. Stretched leather and shiny embellishments evoke the allure of luxury goods, morphed into figurative gestures.

Embedded in my work is a critique of how we’re groomed—through family, media, and institutions—to internalize conflicting messages about power, beauty, gender, and entitlement. I’m focused on how we learn to act out our identities, and how appearance and attraction shape social hierarchies. This is most apparent in adolescence, when the desire to be seen can easily become distorted or misdirected without proper support.

My imagery includes objects that entice or enhance perception, such as perfume and liquor bottles, sultry bows, polished fingernails, plump fruit, and ice cream swirls. The overall forms often resemble body armor, merging figurative curves with sharp angles to evoke gender ambiguity, monolithic strength, and playful seduction. Meticulous stretching and stitching allow me to expose and control the shapes of these narratives, recontextualizing our connections to the haunted into more confident, safe, and humorous symbols.


Instagram: @trish.tillman