Talia Levitt: art and early motherhoodCEFR B2
16 Nov 2025
Adapted from Omid Memarian, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by Julia Taubitz, Unsplash
Talia Levitt's exhibition "24/7" examines the experience of early motherhood through painted still lifes that merge domestic material and art-historical methods. The show began when caregiving and studio work overlapped; Levitt says she was "painting in bed with my daughter." The resulting paintings respond to a mix of urgency, exhaustion, elation and tenderness and read as visual diaries that honor both labor and intimacy.
Levitt combines pacifiers, baby clothes and childhood jewelry boxes with fruit, flowers and candles. She often uses trompe-l'oeil and textile-like patterns, scored grids and piped paint that resembles embroidery. Her process grew from an experiment at Skowhegan in 2019, when she scraped a grid into paint rather than painting every line.
- paint imagery directly onto canvas with brushes
- score a grid into the surface and seal it with gloss medium
- pipe "stitching" from sandwich bags
- add casts, glitter and other embellishments
Levitt places her work in dialogue with Dutch still life, feminist pattern-and-decoration movements and craft. She asks viewers to question perception and reality and whether an image is "honest" or "real." Motherhood has changed her imagery and methods; she says her daughter taught her to look. Though her production has decreased, she regards the work made after her daughter's birth, including a body for Victoria Miro Projects, as her strongest to date. "24/7" will travel next to the K11 Art Foundation in Shanghai.
Difficult words
- exhibition — public showing of artworks or visual projects
- motherhood — state or experience of being a mother
- still life — painting or image of arranged objectsstill lifes
- trompe-l'oeil — painting technique that creates an optical illusion
- perception — the way someone notices and understands things
- embellishment — small decorative additions added to art or objectsembellishments
- intimacy — close personal connection between people
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- How does combining baby objects with art-historical methods change how viewers might see the work? Give reasons and examples.
- Do you think artwork that honors both labor and intimacy can change public attitudes toward caregiving? Why or why not?
- Levitt's production decreased after her daughter's birth, yet she calls the later work her strongest. How can reduced output still lead to stronger work?
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