Meet Rachel Van der Nacht

This NYC based illustrator/creative director has some serious range. In their professional work they have taken on a number of creative collaborations with a wide range of brands including Adidas, Refinery29, and Equinox.

Through their personal work they deliver thoughtful vignettes of modern life. Their whimsical and potent style quickly won me over, and caused me to scroll through every illustration they have ever made (which is a lot). Anyway get to know the artist and see some of their work in our latest interview.

Two Truths and a Lie (answer at the end of the interview)

I am North African
I studied philosophy and literature
I am super organized

Would you rather…

have snails for hair or large bats for feet? Please explain your answer?

Snails because I am super scared of bats. I would cut my hair then.

Some questions with Rachel Van der Nacht

What types of narratives do you gravitate towards in your work?

Love! I feel my art deals playfully and empathetically with themes people connect with viscerally. It is the visual storytelling of the emotions, cultural challenges, and relationship journeys of people. The personal experiences that I know about are the catalyst behind all of her creations.

Do you think that art should have a meaning or message?

Yes, first for the artist and then for people. Art is always about sharing an emotion I guess.

How would you like viewers to engage with your work? / What do you hope to convey?

I try to be real. It is such a subjective thing, but I try to convey an emotion. I am a fan of light and dark at the same time. The magic to me is when there are lots of things going on at the same time. Happiness, sadness...

What shoes do you wear most often? Why?

Converse because it's comfortable and goes with everything

How do you feel about the role social media plays in an artist's career?

Oh man, it's scary. You can reach more people and it's amazing, but you can lose yourself and it's creepy. It's both a bliss and a curse.

What do you think happened to the dinosaurs?

They spent too much time on Netflix.

What advice do you have for visual artists starting off in NYC?

Keep going no matter what. Work work work. Surround yourself with good people.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

"They didn't know it was impossible so they did it". Mark Twain

Two Truths and a Lie Key

Truth: I am North African
Truth: I studied philosophy and literature
Lie: I am super organized

Rachel Van der Nacht