In Her Manhattan and Maine Studios, Artist Inka Essenhigh:
Inka Essenhigh believes painting is a private matter.
The American artist keeps two studios, one nestled in the woods of Maine, the other on the fifth floor of an old building in downtown Manhattan. While worlds outside the studio doors might be very different, life inside is remarkably similar. Essenhigh spends her studio days drinking coffee and passionately working and reworking her fantastical nature-inspired canvases until her paintings resonate with her intuition. She doesn’t let just about anybody see her work—until it’s finished, that is—and her only visitor is often her husband the painter Steve Mumford, delivering lunch or yet another cup of coffee.
Such intimacy is essential; Essenhigh’s ethereal and fantastical landscapes are painted entirely from her imagination, without preparatory drawings or sketches, and Essenhigh must steer clear of outside influence. But when her works are completed, they are luminous. Right now an exhibition of her recently created paintings is on view at New York’s Miles McEnery Gallery (through June 3). These lush and magical paintings conjure up a kaleidoscopic world of cascading evergreen forests, flower-like nymphs and fairies, and sensuous, drooping blossoms that seem to pour off the canvas and into our eyes. The works radiate color—an effect of the enamel paints she uses, offering up delightful glossy sheens of color.
Recently we caught up with the artist who told us about what her two studios have in common, the brand of paint she (and Jackson Pollock) swears by, and why it might take her a minute to answer the phone.
Inside Inka Essenhigh’s studio. Photo: Dan Bradica. Courtesy of Inka Essenhigh.
