Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, an artist and advocate for human rights who fearlessly confronted injustice through her striking paintings, has passed away at 46. Born in 1979, she left behind a rich body of work that deconstructed the violent politics of contemporary America.
Her vivid depiction of the January 6 insurrection, “Father, Don’t You See That I Am Burning” (2021), was acquired by the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC. Dupuy-Spencer also spoke out against Israel’s violence towards Palestinians and faced relentless online harassment for her stance.
She once wrote, ‘I don’t care what they do to me. Why would I duck and hide from fascists?’ Her upcoming solo show at Jeffrey Deitch, “Burning in the Eyes of the Maker,” grappled with the tension between the art world and political meaning. In her artist statement, Dupuy-Spencer wrote that painting was a conversation rather than a construction, helping her reach inaccessible emotions.
Her loss is mourned by those who know her, like Nina MacLaughlin, co-author of her upcoming book: “Celeste saw beyond. She showed us what most of us try to ignore.”
