Susan Arena
Contact me at: susanlarena@gmail.com
Artist Statement
I lived in Cairo, Egypt in the late 1980s and am forever touched by the beauty and grace of the culture but also by the brutality and dogmatism. There is a duality that is powerful to me, it says something about human truth, and I try to reflect it in my work—
I am interested in: spirituality/sexuality | sacred/profane | private/public .
The female body is the theatre of this war of dualities. Try as I may, I cannot escape this body, because my work is the artifact of processing my personal navigation/narrative.
The visceral and hallucinatory depictions of Jesus I encountered on a recent visit to Mexico has rekindled my interest in portraiture. Currently, I am working on paintings of women, exploring what it means to see women as idol/individual | muse/personality.
RESUME
2017 "Make America, Gallery 825, Hollywood CA
2016 "Countenance Divine, Gallery 825, Hollywood CA
2016 "Cognitive Faculties," Faculty Show, Crossroads School, Santa Monica CA
2016 "Exposed," West Hollywood Arts Center, Los Angeles CA
2014 "Moonlighting": Exhibition of Work by Crossroads Teaching Artists, Sam Francis Gallery, Santa Monica CA
2013 Solo Show "Family Totems", Space Gallery, Pasadena CA
2013 "Them": Surrogate Gallery Projects. Show Curated by Holly Boruck. Pasadena CA
2011 Solo Show: “Imaginary Homelands”, Gallery 825,
Los Angeles CA
2011 “Paper Trail”, Happy Gallery, Hollywood, CA
2010 “This Is My Education”, Art in General Gallery,
New York,NY
2010,2009 “Gem”, Gallery 825, Los Angeles CA
2009 “My New Country”: Curated by Rita Gonzales, Gallery 825,
Los Angeles CA
2009, 2008,2007 Solo Shows: “House Work”,“A Girl’s Work Book”, “Play and Prophecy”, Indie Collective Gallery, Culver City, CA
2007 “Second Nature”, Tinlark Gallery, Hollywood CA
2006,2008 Capital Group, Artwork represented in collection,
Los Angeles, CA
2005 “Portraits” Show, L Street Fine Art, San Diego, CA
2003-present Lendrum Fine Art: Represented by consulting group,
Los Angeles, CA
2009, 2005, 2003 “Fresh Start”: Group Show, Santa Monica Museum of Art, Los Angeles,CA
2003 Solo Show: Axel Raben Gallery, New York, NY
2002 “Fantasyland”: D’Amelio Terras Gallery New York, NY
2002 “Abundant Sugar” ,Brewery Art Center, Los Angeles, CA
2001 “Alternative Photographic Processes”, The Art Institute of Boston, Boston, MA
2001 “Spitting Image: Myth and Creation of Feminine Identity”
Art Gallery at Stamford, University of Connecticut, Stanford, CT
2000 “Flat File”, Bellwether Gallery, Brooklyn NY
2000 “Bridges”, Waqas Wajahat, Curator, DUMBO Art Center, Brooklyn, NY
2000 ArtAdvocate.com. Artwork featured on website
1999 "Size Matters", Mike Weiss, Curator, GAle GAtes et al., Brooklyn, NY
1999 "National Competition", Graham Nickson, Juror,First Street Gallery, New York, NY
1999 "National Competition", Lisa Dennison, Juror, Phoenix Gallery, New York, NY
1998 "What's in a Dress", Laurie Seeman Gallery, W. Nyack, NY
1997 "Winter Show", Cecile Kahn, Curator Painting Center,
New York, NY
1997 Group Show, William Bailey, Juror, Bowery Gallery,
New York, NY
1997 "Color Schemes", Anne McKeown, Curator, Axis Gallery, Philadelphia,PA
1996 “Pet Paintings” Bernard Toale Gallery, Boston MA
1996 Works on Paper, Jonathan Shimony, Curator, Z Space,
Paris, France
1994 "A Change of Perception", Elizabeth Hazan, Curator, New York Studio School, New York, NY
1991, 92 McGuffey Art Center, Solo Painting Shows,
Charlottesville, VA
EDUCATION
1995 Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT
M.F.A. Degree in Painting and Printmaking, 1995
1991-1993 New York Studio School, New York, NY
1988 Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
B.A. Magna Cum Laude with Highest Honors
WORK EXPERIENCE
2011-present Crossroads Elementary School, Santa Monica C
Head of Elementary School Art Program. Grades K-5
2010 Artstarcamp, Los Angeles CA (artstarcamp.com)
Founder and teacher. Fine arts education for children ages 6-12
2010 IKAR Preschool, Los Angeles CA
Preschool’s Art Teacher and Art Consultant
2011 Hands On 3rd, Los Angeles
Teacher of adult art classes
2009-2010 Larchmont Charter School, Los Angeles, CA
Part-time Art Teacher for grades 2nd- 5th and teacher of after-school classes
2004- 2006 Santa Monica College, Los Angeles, CA
Instructor in Drawing and Painting
2000 Pratt School of Art and Design, Department of Education, Brooklyn, NY
Visiting Assistant Professor
2000 NYU Department of Art, New York, NY
Instructor in Painting
1999- 2000 92nd Street Y Art Center, New York, NY
Instructor in Painting and Drawing
1997-2000 Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT
Lecturer in Painting/Printmaking
1996 - 1997 Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
Artist-in-Residence
1995-96 Learning Through Expanded Arts Program (L.E.A.P.), New York, NY
Teaching consultant for art workshops designed to enrich the curriculum in
public schools in New York City
HONORS AND AWARDS
2009 Los Angeles Artists Association (LAAA) : Admission by juried screening process. LAAA is a non-profit organization that exhibits and champions emerging artists.
1998 Vermont Studio Center, Yale School of Art Fellowship: Full scholarship for residence at the Center
1995 Alice Kimball English Travelling Fellowship: Funds awarded to study tribal painting in village India, Yale University School of Art
1994 Arnold Bittleman Memorial Prize: Outstanding first-year student in drawing, Yale University School of Art
1994 Prize for Overall Excellence and Distinction in Painting, New York Studio School
1992 The Vera List Scholarship, funds to study at New York Studio School
1988 The George P. Gardner Travelling Fellowship: Funds awarded to study Islamic calligraphy and miniature painting in Egypt, Harvard University
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