Phillis Ideal grew up in the desert of southern New Mexico, imprinted by the mystery of open space and the ever-changing dynamic sky. This early input, combined with living thirty-six years in the crowded urban energy of New York City, defines her current paintings that juxtaposing expansive gestural space and tightly packed collage areas.
Ideal began painting at four years old under the tutelage of her grandmother, a serious painter, who exposed her to oil paint before she could read. She received a BFA from the University of New Mexico; and then, began to travel, far from the experience of her roots, zigzagging across the country. During the 1970’s she lived in Berkeley, California, and embraced the experience of poetry, freedom, and feminism in the Bay Area. She received an MFA from the University of California Berkeley where she studied painting under Elmer Bishoff. She had her first one person show in 1973 at M.H. de Young Museum while still in graduate school. During the twelve years she lived in the Bay Area, she exhibited extensively and held teaching positions. In 1982 she moved to NYC and has been involved in the New York City art world ever since. She has had 20 solo shows and has taught at University of California Berkeley, San Francisco State, Sarah Lawrence College, University of New Mexico and Brooklyn Museum. Her work can be found in numerous private and corporate collections, including Museum of Modern Art, Oakland Museum of California, Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, White and Case in New York, Prudential Insurance Collection, Crocker National Bank, Skidmore, Owing and Merrill, Bank of Rome and many others.
In the last five years she has written short stories, set in New Mexico and in New York, and published in journals and blogs.
She is a member of American Abstract Artists and is currently represented by David Richard Gallery in NYC. She splits her time between NYC and Santa Fe.
My artist profession evolved from a childhood obsession to draw and paint at an early age, developed by an academic studio and art history background and the support of professors, an artistic community and fellow artist friends. I began to exhibit and teach and establish a name in the art world so more shows and teaching jobs were the organic result.
