Artist Statement

My work moves between structure and surrender. I first trained as a biologist, where years of drawing under a microscope sharpened my attention to nuance, rhythm, and variation. That discipline remains embedded in my paintings, even as they unfold through large-scale abstraction.

I began my career as a portrait painter in London before turning fully to abstraction after studying at The Art Students’ League in New York, where I worked with Larry Poons. Abstraction offered a different kind of truth — one that could hold tension, ambiguity, and emotional depth without literal narrative.

Working primarily in oil, I paint intuitively and at scale. I often begin with color rather than image, allowing gesture and sensation to lead. The process is physical and immersive. I resist overcorrection, trusting that what emerges carries its own internal logic.

My recent series, Open, Not Broken, explores presence through somatic abstraction — moments of suspension, endurance, and return. These works are not about resolution, but about staying. They hold vulnerability without collapse, and openness without fracture.

Letting go of perfection has become central to both my studio practice and my life. Each painting is an act of attention — a commitment to remain present and responsive to what unfolds.

Solo Exhibitions

2025
High Stakes Room, Caesar’s, Las Vegas, NV

2016
TIME Building Lobby, New York, NY

2015
Making Honey, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY

2011
Pen + Brush Upstairs Gallery, New York, NY

2009
Roy Michaels Gallery, New York, NY

Selected Group Exhibitions

2010–2024
National Association of Women Artists (NAWA), New York, NY

2007–2016
Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery, The Art Students’ League of New York

2016
The National Arts Club, New York, NY

2017
Pen + Brush Gallery, New York, NY

2019
Moberg Gallery, Des Moines, IA

2007
Artists Abroad, Hong Kong City Hall, Hong Kong

Selected Online Exhibitions

2024–2025
SaatchiArt

2021–2025
Singulart

2017–2023
Light Space Time Online Gallery

Awards

2022–2023
Light Space Time Gallery — Special Recognition for Excellence in Art

2012–2017
ArtSlant Showcase Winner (Abstract)

2008–2016
Blue Dot Award, The Art Students’ League of New York

2018–Present
Chairish Super Seller Award

Collections

Laguna Niguel Hotel, Permanent Collection
BNA Hilton, Nashville Airport, Permanent Collection
The Towers, Taipei, Permanent Collection
Sherrard, Roe, Voigt & Harbison PLC, Nashville, TN
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, Nashville, TN
AT Kearney, New York, NY
Columbia University, New York, NY
WD Schock Co., Nashville, TN

Private collections in the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Press

Phillips, Renee. “Many Different Views of Abstract Art, Past and Present.” Manhattan Arts International, March 2019.

Malinsky, Richard. “Trixie Pitts: The Development of an Abstractionist.” The Woven Tale Press, February 2018.

“11 Emerging Contemporary Artists from Nashville to Know.” The Culture Trip, July 2017.

Mair, Moray. “Trixie Pitts Expressionistic Paintings Are Now on Show in New York.” Mutant Space, March 2016.

Mair, Moray. “Trixie Pitts’ Pastel and Graphite Drawings Are Joyful Expressions.” Mutant Space, November 2014