Lucy Luckovich (b.2001), is a contemporary painter whose work challenges the boundaries between painting, photography, and digital culture. Based in Providence, Rhode Island, Luckovich explores complex themes of exploitation, representation, and fantasy, focusing on the ways in which images shape our understanding of sexuality and self-worth. Her paintings often feature contemporary still-life compositions, layered with charged objects and appropriated ephemera from internet culture, movies, online forums, and pornography.
In her practice, Luckovich engages deeply with the interplay between digital media and the painted form, pushing the boundaries of traditional painting by integrating motifs and visual language from the digital world. Her work is informed by the politics of desire, fantasy, and commodification, and she interrogates the relationship between the observer and the observed, bringing attention to the exploitation inherent in contemporary visual culture.
One of the recurring themes in her paintings is the way objects—especially those loaded with sexual or cultural significance—are arranged and recontextualized to provoke thought about their original meaning and the way they are consumed by the viewer. Her compositions are intricate and multi-layered, often creating a sense of disquiet that forces the viewer to confront their own perceptions of desire and fantasy.
Luckovich’s practice is also informed by literature and the act of writing, which she views as a parallel to her visual work. She draws inspiration from both contemporary and classical texts, frequently thinking of her own artistic process in relation to narrative structure and language. Her intellectual engagement with books and writing contributes a reflective, almost philosophical, dimension to her art, enhancing the narrative and conceptual depth of her works.
Her paintings have been described as both provocative and introspective, forcing the viewer to question their relationship with the images and the objects that surround them, particularly in the context of internet culture. Through her distinct visual language, Luckovich continues to explore the intersection of fantasy, reality, and representation in the digital age.
Hi Lucy! It’s a pleasure to sit down with you! First question that I always ask. How does a regular day look like for you in Atlanta?
Hi! I’m really honored to do this interview. Thank you so much for having me.
Well, I just moved from Atlanta to Providence, Rhode Island for my MFA degree at RISD, so lately my days are looking much busier and more chaotic. In general, a studio day consists of me waking up pretty early, having a decent breakfast, and spending all day painting. The studio lately is a lot of drawing, reading, and battling with paintings for weeks at a time. If I feel like I have the flexibility, I will go for a run or exercise at some point. I’m not the romantic type to stay up all night painting away. I really rely on schedule and consistency.
I’m curious. Growing up, what kind of kid were you? What did you enjoy doing, and how did you spend your time?
Growing up I was a very anxious kid. I think I had a lot going on internally that I couldn’t figure out. I’m still quite a nervous, neurotic person, but I am much happier. I always enjoyed drawing and painting growing up, and I spent quite a bit of time on the internet. Much like other girls my age, my preteen and early adolescent years were spent largely on Tumblr and Pinterest as well as playing the Sims and other kinds of role playing games where you customize your character and live vicariously through them. I think I was doing the same thing on those online games as I was on the image-based forum websites; I was constructing my identity through the internet.
Alright, so when did you start to paint, and when did you start taking being an artist seriously?
I began painting when I was pretty young I think. My mom is an oil painter, so I picked up oils for the first time when I was around 13, but I didn’t start taking art seriously until I was 19. It was over the pandemic that I started painting every single day, and then I began showing my work anywhere that gave me the opportunity. There were definitely a handful of weird warehouse party/festival-esque things I hung up my work at in Atlanta before anyone let me into a gallery or professional setting.
Cherries, pearls and chains are recurring motifs in your work, can you tell me about that?
After studying photography in undergrad, I got really interested in still-life images and how to make them just as evocative as images that included the figure or illustrated movement. I tried to apply this to my paintings and used objects that I felt could communicate things like femininity or desire as well as violence or darker themes. I started with cherries being stabbed by nails or screws and sort of oozing out juice in a way that I thought was like sooo edgy and provocative at the time. It’s definitely evolved from there, but the general sentiment is the same.
What drives your decision to appropriate imagery from internet forums, pornography, and movies in your work?
Like many artists, my work is a reflection of myself and my experiences, and so much of our current experience is through online imagery. This idea is definitely not a new or inventive one by this point, and I see a lot of artists doing the same thing as me where their work is a reflection of the screen or what they consume through the screen. So much of who I am and what I’m into is based on things I encounter online or in media, so it only makes sense for me to include that in the work.
How do you navigate the balance between personal expression and public perception, given that your work incorporates elements of sexuality and self-worth?
That’s a good question. I guess I began using objects in front of other images to obscure them as a way of controlling the perception or the viewing experience of the work to an extent. Having a chain or a cherry blocking another image forces someone to encounter the work in a particular way. They have to sort of navigate around the object in front or look beyond it to see anything specific. At the same time, I also acknowledge that it’s impossible for me to completely control someone’s experience with the paintings, and I can only do so much to influence what someone gets out of them. I find that different people have wildly different interpretations, and I enjoy that. I think it’s very interesting how much of ourselves we project onto everything around us and talking about art really emphasizes that.
In what ways does your work challenge traditional views of representation and exploitation, especially in relation to gender and sexuality?
I actually don’t know if it does challenge them. I’m still not sure if it needs to or not. I think that there is an opportunity for questioning the imagery we are fed through the means of advertising and pornography and how that slips into other mainstream media like film and television and then how it trickles down to media generated online by individuals. Ultimately I feel like the paintings are trying to be accurate reflections of the problematic ideals and concepts that I have personally internalized, and if that helps others to identify those same feelings in themselves or in the culture at large then that’s cool too.
How do fantasy and self-worth interact in your work? Do you view your paintings as a form of self-exploration or self-confrontation?
I view them as both. I’m sort of looking at what images I choose to paint or I’m drawn to, and then I can ask myself “Ok, so why did you choose that?” Which can be an uncomfortable question to answer sometimes. It’s somewhere between attraction, revulsion, desire, and fear. And it’s also like– is this a fantasy of mine or is it a projection of how I see myself? I’m really not sure.
What drew you to explore the ‘visual language of photography’ in your paintings, and how do you think it influences the viewer’s perception of your work?
Although I am primarily a painter, some of my favorite artists are photographers. I am a huge fan of Nobuyoshi Araki, and I think his work has influenced my current practice more so than any painter has. Therefore, I am definitely interested in the difference between viewing an image and viewing a painting even if what is painted is photorealistic. I also like how Josef Albers discusses the difference between the way the eye and a camera absorb images, and I want to try to incorporate both within my work. I think then it creates a unique, third way of seeing.
Alright Lucy, I know you’re into writing and books, are there particular authors, books, or literary genres that have a significant impact on your work?
For a long time I was looking at Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov and taking a lot of inspiration not only from the content of the book but also how Nabokov wrote about such a dark story in an incredibly beautiful and ornate way. More recently I have been thinking about the concept discussed by Jacques Lacan and Helene Cixous of jouissance and how I can communicate that as a painter. I like Cixous’s ideas about “women’s writing”, and I want to use her thoughts about feminine expression to translate abstract or nuanced emotions through paint and really deny the idea that my work needs to be transparent or exact in its moral or social position. Lately I have been interested in Anais Nin’s erotica. I think she is a great example of what Cixous was talking about.
Do you see any parallels between the act of writing and the act of painting? How do these forms of expression intertwine in your creative process?
Totally! Both are deeply personal and embarrassing. I write about my work quite a bit. I journal very often too, and that’s a very honest and direct way of expressing myself which is quite similar to painting. Except my approach to painting is much more methodical.
Are there any specific narratives or characters from books that you’ve drawn inspiration from for your compositions?
Definitely Dolores Haze from Lolita as I mentioned. I have painted her a few times. But I don’t think of my work as very narrative, so I haven’t really adopted many other characters or stories from literature. Dolores is given enough description so you feel like you know her, but enough is left a mystery so there is plenty of room to project anything you want onto her. I try to leave my paintings like this as well. There’s enough information so you know what you’re looking at for the most part, but it’s vague enough to let you insert yourself into it and leave room for projection from the viewer
Can you walk me through your creative process from beginning to end result?
I begin with a lot of reading and contemplating what ideas or topics I’m most drawn to. Almost always this connects to things I’ve been interested in unconsciously in the past, so I’ll draw connections to things and from there I will search for imagery online that I feel like reflects these bigger ideas. Once I find an image, I will save it, pull it up on my computer, and then use a digital camera to take reference photos while I suspend other objects in front of the image. Once I have these photos, I’ll find a composition I like, crop them, and edit the colors and lighting until I’m satisfied with it.
Can you also tell me about your use of symbolism?
Yes! It’s going to sound silly, but I don’t even really think of my work as dealing with symbolism that much. I think that’s because the objects I’m painting take on such a variety of meanings depending on where I’m at emotionally or what’s on my mind. Sometimes the cherry is a euphemism for virginity or sometimes it’s a stand-in for a little girl. The chain and pearl is mostly a representation of ambiguity, but sometimes I think of it as symbolizing life and death or freedom and repression. Ultimately I see them as a tool for obscuration or censorship.
How do you approach color?
I typically approach it by thinking of the kind of mood or tone I want to convey in the painting. Lately it’s been a more serious mood and the colors have become a bit darker and more muted.
So with what we just talked about, what are you hoping to convey?
In a nutshell, I want the work to convey something about desire and fear. Different paintings might communicate different things about those subjects because I’m a complicated person and have a complex relationship with what inspires desire and fear within me.
In a parallel universe who would you be? and what would you be doing?
Oh my god. I really don’t know. It’s always been art for me since I was a kid. At certain times I’ve been like “Oh, maybe I’ll be a chef or a nutritionist,” just because I really like food and eating. I started undergrad as a graphic design major, but it was so incompatible with me that I finally switched to painting. Maybe I’d be a dancer because I like dancing, and I also like attention.
Can you tell me a story about a time when a connection with someone had a big impact on you?
I can’t think of a specific person, but I would generally say the arts community in Atlanta is incredible and everyone in it has impacted me deeply. I was working out of a studio called Murphy Rail in South Atlanta, and the people there and surrounding that space are very dear to me. I learned so much from everyone in there, and it really taught me the importance of community within the arts.
What qualities do you find most important in the people you choose to spend time with?
I really look for honesty and open-mindedness! I like people who don’t see things as black or white. I also like funny and forgiving people.
Anybody you look up to?
So many people! I look up to my sister and mother a lot because they are both very strong women who are good at asserting themselves. I look up to artists like Lisa Yuskavage and Laurie Simmons. I really admire women who are strong and eloquent and don’t stumble over their words or dismiss themselves as dumb because they are insecure about what they have to say (as I often do).
What motivates you?
I think, like many artists, I have a neurosis that forces me to get up and create every day to get closer to some hypothetical consummate painting that I feel is out there in the ether waiting for me to paint it. As if there is some perfect image that could completely summarize everything I need to say within a single painting, and every work I make is a tiny step towards it.
How would you describe a perfect day?
My perfect day would be one where I wake up fully rested at dawn. I feel energized and my skin is flawless. Then, I have oatmeal and coffee for breakfast after which I go for a run and my knees don’t hurt. After that, I arrive at my studio and paint until the sun goes down. I bring the perfect amount of food to the studio so my blood sugar remains at an ideal level all day long. That night, I fall asleep within 15 minutes. That would be the perfect day.
Alright Lucy, I always ask these two questions at the end of an interview. The first is. What’s your favorite movie(s) and why?
I would be lying if I didn’t say that Call Me By Your Name is my favorite movie. It has mostly everything that I like in a movie; an inappropriate relationship, fruit, literature, Timothee Chalamet, and the French language. It’s also sort of dark which I’m into. Other honorable mentions would be The Shining and Belladonna of Sadness.
The second is. What song(s) are you currently listening to the most right now?
Definitely Palace by Asap Rocky, Ganger by RRoxket, and anything by Boards of Canada. I’ve also noticed I’ve been listening to a lot of Outkast. I think it reminds me of Atlanta!