Magic in the Mundane

_{Ann Toebbe photographed by Clare Britt}

A look at four of the season’s most unforgettable movie sets through the eyes of contemporary artist Ann Toebbe

By Alicia Pestalozzi

Artwork by Ann Toebbe

Ann Toebbe has a knack for turning everyday domestic interiors into something extraordinary. Through the contemporary artist’s singular perspective, seemingly mundane backdrops—kitchens, bedrooms and living rooms—become poetic and personal. With a keen eye for detail and a penchant for storytelling, Chicago-based Toebbe reimagines objects and furniture through intricate patterns and geometric abstraction, combining meticulous technique with a sense of narrative and emotional depth. 

 Toebbe’s compositions also explore how physical spaces reflect and shape the narratives they contain and their characters’ psyches, whether through intimate details or grand architectural symbolism. In this portfolio, Toebbe turns her attention to the sets and interiors of some of this year’s most acclaimed films: Wicked, Emilia Pérez, Maria and Conclave.

Employing a creative process defined by her commitment to detail and precision, Toebbe—who holds a BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art and an MFA in painting from Yale—seamlessly combines freehand painting with intricate paper collage techniques, creating layered compositions rich in both texture and detail. The artist blends multiple perspectives within a single frame, often portraying interiors from unconventional viewpoints and combining aerial perspectives with straight-on depictions to create a flattened yet dynamic space—all while presenting objects in ways that challenge traditional notions of perspective and depth.

For Wicked, Toebbe recreates Glinda’s dormitory bedroom at Shiz University, a hyper-feminine space filled with soft pastels, ornate furnishings and sparkling energy. The artist’s intentional exclusion of Glinda’s roommate Elphaba’s side of the shared space highlights the dynamic tension between the two characters, as well as Glinda’s dominant presence and the initial imbalance in their relationship. This extravagant setting sets the stage for much of the characters’ emotional development.

For Emilia Pérez, Toebbe was drawn to the working-class apartment of Epifanía, one of Emilia’s love interests. The relationship between the two characters unfolds in this intimate setting, where both women find tenderness and acceptance. Toebbe focused on modest details, such as two chairs seemingly turned toward each other in an embrace, capturing the essence of a pivotal moment of vulnerability and connection in the film.

In Maria, Pablo Larraín’s film about Maria Callas during her final days, Toebbe centers her work on the singer’s grand piano. A recurring motif in the film is the piano frequently moving from one room to another at the singer’s request. Positioned at the intersection of two rooms, the piano is a metaphor for Callas’ inner turmoil and inability to settle, reflecting the tension between Maria, the woman, and La Callas, the larger-than-life icon. 

Conclave, in contrast, offers a radically different tone. The outdoor setting, dominated by male symbolism, starkly contrasts the other works’ more intimate and feminine spaces. Through the grandeur of Rome’s historic architecture, Toebbe captures the weight of tradition and the authority inherent in the papal selection process while also exploring the vulnerability of personal ambition.

Throughout this portfolio, Toebbe reimagines these cinematic interiors as emotional landscapes, where every detail—a shadow, a trinket or the placement of a chair—tells a story of its own. Toebbe’s work pays homage to the indispensable contributions of set designers, capturing the essence of their work and enriching it with her unique artistic vision.