The Art World Works From Home: Painter Doron Langberg Has Turned His Dining Table Into a Studio and Is Eating a Lot of Baba Ganoush

The art world may be on lockdown, but it certainly does not
stop. During this unprecedented time, we’re checking in with
art-world professionals, collectors, and artists to get a glimpse
into how they are working from home.

We recently caught up with the painter Doron Langberg, whose
solo show at Yossi Milo gallery
last year, “Likeness,” was a
highlight of the fall exhibition calendar. Born in Israel and now
based in Manhattan, Doron creates sensuous canvases that delight in
painterly touch and explode with color. Often featuring multiple
figures, his paintings are deeply intimate and a celebration of
queer sexuality—and have made him one of the most talked-about
young painters in New York. You may have seen his work on display
at New York’s Armory Show, and he’s currently working toward a solo
show at M+B gallery in Los
Angeles this fall.

Read on to learn about everything from his current home studio
to his mouthwatering recipe for baba ganoush.

Where’s your new “office”?

My husband and I live in a one bedroom, so he’s on one side of
our dining-slash-living area and I’m on the other. Half of our
dining table is my drawing studio and the corner where we keep our
kitchen appliances is my painting studio, which I just set up
today.

How has your work changed now that you are doing it from
home?

I usually work from observation, where a friend would come to
the studio or I would go to their place and make a small painting,
which I then use as source material for my larger works. Since
social distancing is not ideal for painting from life, I started
making small drawings from older photographic source material I
had. Actually, this was my process over 10 years ago when I started
working with sexual subject matter. It’s been amazing to connect
again with the “core” of my practice and I already have a few ideas
for larger works based on these drawings. I even snuck out to
studio the other day and started one!

What are you reading, both online and off?

One thing I’m not reading is the news. I feel so inundated with
information right now, in order to not go crazy and concentrate on
my work, I have to shut a lot of it out. Off my computer and phone,
I’m reading See
Under-Love by Israeli author David Grossman. I’m only
a third of the way in, but right now he’s writing about Bruno
Schulz—a Jewish artist and writer who was killed by the Nazis—who
happened to be from the same town in Poland as my dad!

Have you taken up any new hobbies?

Does Zooming count? I’m in the process of organizing an art
auction to benefit Food Bank for NYC,
which has me glued to my computer much more than usual.

What is the first place you want to travel to once this
is over?

MY STUDIO! I’m having serious studio withdrawal. Very jealous of
all the artists that have home studio set-ups right now who can
continue working as usual.

If you are feeling stuck while self-isolating, what’s
your best method for getting un-stuck?

I’m pretty much a homebody as it is, so I rarely feel “stuck” at
home. But I have been pretty anxious these days about what the art
world will be like on the other end of this, and for my husband who
is a doctor. To keep all these thoughts in check, I’ve been going
on jogs which help clear my head and calm me down.

What was the last TV show, movie, or YouTube video you
watched?

I’ve been watching The Crown, which
is perfectly boring. I love mindless, silly shows that help me fall
asleep. I recently gave up on Gossip
Girl because the drama between Serena and
Blair was just too much for me. 

If you could have one famous work of art with you, what
would it be?

Wow, just one?! I’d love a wartime Morandi flower
still life right now—a symbol of isolation and introspection during
dire circumstances. Although there are suggestions he was a Fascist
sympathizer—Mussolini even owned one of this pieces, I think!

What are you most looking forward to doing once social
distancing has been lifted?

Hugging my friends!

Have you visited any good virtual exhibitions
recently?

I haven’t. I feel like Instagram fulfills this aspect of my
art-viewing needs. But I’m thrilled artists and galleries are
finding ways to get work out there and make some money during this
crisis.

Favorite recipe to cook at home? 

So there’s no recipe per-se, but if we know each other you’ve
probably had my baba ganoush.

• 1 of the most beautiful, firm eggplants you can find (make
  sure it feels like a light, dry sponge and not soggy or soft)
• 2 pressed garlic cloves
• 3 tablespoons of tahini (make it good—I schlepped mine from
  Israel—it’s worth it!)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• A LOT of olive oil
• 1–2 tablespoons pomegranate
  molasses
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Poke holes all around your eggplant and place it directly(!!)
on the flame of your burner. Yes—it will make a mess. At this point
turn off your fire alarm and open a window.

2. Let it burn for about 15 minutes on each side until it’s
completely charred on the outside and soft on the inside all
around.

3. On a cutting board, slice the eggplant open and let it steam
off until it’s cool enough to handle. Scoop out the flesh with
your fingers and remove the bits of chard skin (it’s fine if a
little bit is left).

4. Transfer the flesh of the eggplant to a bowl and mix in your
garlic cloves, tahini, lemon, A LOT of olive oil, salt and pepper
to taste, and your final secret ingredient, pomegranate
molasses!

The post The Art World Works From Home: Painter Doron
Langberg Has Turned His Dining Table Into a Studio and Is Eating a
Lot of Baba Ganoush appeared first on artnet News.