Abby Zhang: Intimate Abstraction
Abby Zhang is a multidisciplinary artist based in California and New York. She holds an MFA in Fine Arts from Pratt Institute. Her artistic practice spans painting and art-directed video work, exploring themes of space, memory, and the act of collection. Drawing from personal experience, her work creates intimate spaces that blend both literal and abstract elements. These spaces—ranging from domestic interiors to the brain itself—are filled with codes, marks, and fragmented narratives, reflecting her lifelong habit of collecting and making connections between disparate objects and ideas. Her "Room" series, in particular, serves as both a container for storytelling and a space for the viewer to engage with multiple interpretations, inviting them to explore the gaps and missing perspectives within the work. Through this approach, Abby Zhang's art offers an open invitation to reflect on the act of collecting and the personal histories we build through the spaces we inhabit.
How did your creative journey begin?
I have always been a creative person, and I find drawing as an approachable way every time I want to create something. During the senior year of college, I decided to apply for a MFA degree, so I started to think about what I really care about, and what I really want in my art. That’s when I started to consider myself an artist, and many ideas I was thinking back then have come back to me in my works these years.
Where do you find inspiration for your work?
I like to look at art in galleries, museums and on the internet for inspiration. I also like to browse different mediums of creative work, illustrations, designs, and new technologies. I like to pay attention to everything around me, and ask myself why I care about them. Once I see something that grabs my eyes, I write/sketch it down, as a way of collecting stuff that has meanings to me. The process of recreating and redefining in my sketchbook is how I make personal interpretations with things I’ve collected, and what I have created will inspire me again as a cycle.
How has your work evolved over the last few years?
I started my first portfolio by depicting very personal feelings in different styles. Then I wanted to make something that is only about the form of art I’m making, and the joy of making and collecting things. I found a balance now in how to start with something individual but also general enough for the audience to view the form, think of the process and also make personal interpretations.
What does a typical day in the studio look like for you, and how has your art practice grown or changed?
I’m a multitasker and a very intuitive person. I start early and end late in my studio, but it’s hard to say what a typical day looks like. Usually I start my day right into a painting/other project I have been working on, and enjoy being in the zone for hours while doing it. I would jump into a different painting, maybe right in the middle of doing something else, as long as it feels like it. If I feel a lack of motivation or inspiration for the day, I would do something else, for example reading, drawing some illustrations, making some design works, looking for artist opportunities.
Which experiences have impacted your work as an artist?
The first important experience is attending art school. While I was in my MFA program at Pratt, I started to realize the difference between art as a hobby and art as a practice. My work has grown a lot in that time, I made lots of mistakes which nurtured my work in the future. Another experience is quitting my day job and moving to California to work as a full-time artist. Being able to have consistent time to work on my projects allows me to finally develop a language in my work. I felt lots of pressure and joy at the same time, and that’s how I always feel about being an artist.
How has social media impacted your work?
I like that social media can always give me new inspirations, push me to work harder and think more. But I hate the algorithm that makes me feel bad about myself and my art.
Can you tell us more about the themes you explore in your work?
My paintings create otherworldly spaces that work as an extension of self. The space is filled with elements, codes, marks that’s been collected, just like what I do in real life: clutter meaningful and interesting things in my room, and make personal connections with them through time. Artmaking for me is an ongoing process of collecting and sorting ideas into a container, which is similar to my experience in real life: an organized chaos.
IG: @abbypencap
Website: https://www.apencap.com/