Courtney Drake is a conceptual fine artist currently based out of Philadelphia, originally from Wilmington, Delaware. Primarily an oil painter, her works reflect her seven years of pre-college training in traditional realism with a contemporary painting influence that creates a distorted and augmented depiction of reality, with an emphasis on evocative color language, symbolism, and narrative. Her Catholic upbringing, queerness, personal relationships, and physical surroundings inspire and influence her combined works, which serve as a painted archival of memories convoluted with complex emotions and coded messages.
Drake has exhibited at a variety of prestigious institutions and local gallery spaces, such as the Charles Addams Fine Arts Gallery at the University of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Governor’s Mansion in Harrisburg, Icebox Project Space in Philadelphia, and the New York Academy of the Arts. Drake’s awards include the Miriam Troop Portrait Prize with Moore College of Art and Design and the National Scholastic American Visions Award.
In the Studio:
