Rachel Ungerer

Artworks

 Charcoal drawing of a raised fist supported by another hand wrapped around its wrist    Crowded bus with sorrowful young white figure sitting on the floor

First image: Disabled Strong, 2021. Charcoal drawing on paper. Courtesy of the artist. 
Second image: Will I Lose My Dignity, Invisible in Your World? 2021. Acrylic paint on repurposed jeans. Courtesy of the artist.

Other works in the exhibition 

This Vulnerable With You, 2021. Acrylic paint on stretched canvas. Courtesy of the artist.
They is loved: Pleasure in Pain. 2020. Acrylic paint on repurposed jeans. Courtesy of the artist.
Why Are You, 2019. Acrylic paint on stretched canvas. Courtesy of the artist.
The Other Side of The Curtain, 2019. Acrylic paint on stretched canvas. Courtesy of the artist.

Audio description of all the artworks  

In her dense narrative paintings, Rachel Ungerer's focus is on personal relationships and lived experience. In these works, viewers become witnesses of everyday moments that may be unfamiliar to non-disabled people but are all too common for people with disabilities. We are shown the exhaustion of one’s needs being discounted by a hostile and complacent public, but we are also shown the power of interdependence and love. 

Ungerer’s lush use of paint and simple color palette reinforces the intensity of her pieces. Her snapshot paintings of chosen moments encourage us to rethink what we know about the disability community and our own prejudice and bias. Her work was created while in chronic pain and with limited use of her hands.

About the Artist

Close-up photograph of artist Rachel Ungerer

The artist Rachel Ungerer.

Image description: A portrait photograph of the artist Rachel Ungerer from the shoulders up. She is wearing a black vest top, sitting in a car seat, and looking at the camera, smiling. She has short, dyed red hair with one side of her head shaved. 

 

“This work explores how vulnerability can be an asset in relationships, rather than a weakness as society suggests. The vulnerability of disabled people and our varying levels of dependency are infantilized in our ableist society … One of the biggest challenges of having an invisible disability is being gaslit and thus not receiving reasonable care. Regularly we will be bullied off the bus seat or denied accommodations for employment."—Rachel Ungerer

By publicly identifying as someone with an invisible disability, Rachel Ungerer hopes to promote greater awareness and eliminate the negative stigmas. 

Rachel Ungerer lives and works in Oakland and has a BA in Fine Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a focus on painting. Her work has been exhibited in Los Angeles, Louisville, KY, and San Francisco. 

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