upcoming shows

susan arena, joseph's alphabet, selections from a set

"Joseph's Alphabet" is a series of prints made from original acrylic paintings.
They are printed on archival paper and available for purchase as a set of 26
letters of the alphabet.

artist's statement

In my painting I work to create a world like that
of the fairy-tale: where fear, shame, corruption
and anxiety can exist at the same time as humor,
hope, innocence, and wonder. Though the images, at
first glance, are often playful or humorous, they
also reveal a darker and more complex world.
For some time now, I have used animals as a way of
accentuating human qualities and vulnerabilities,
so that animals become, in some way, "more human"
than human beings. There is also a long tradition
in many parts of the world of using animals in such
a symbolic way. My lifelong fascination with
Ancient Egyptian art—and the two years I lived in
Egypt—are influences on my work, as is American
folk art, cartooning, Indian miniature painting,
and devotional religious art. I am drawn to the
simplicity and power of such art and its ability to
convey profound truths while also possessing great
charm.

In traditional narrative painting, the artist
relies on a given set of symbols that is known to
the audience. In the contained world of the
painting, these symbols become a shorthand to
suggest the larger narrative. In my work, I use
experiences drawn from my own life, collaged with
images from magazines to suggest an open-ended
narrative. A particular gesture of a figure, a
certain color, the direction of a gaze are ordinary
moments made magical.