Heather Arenas
Myakka City, FL
Heather Arenas, born in 1969 in New Jersey, is a multidisciplinary artist currently based in Myakka City, Florida.
MessageHeather Arenas, born in 1969 in New Jersey, is a multidisciplinary artist currently based in Myakka City, Florida. Arenas began her professional art career by participating in various life drawing and plein air events across the US but primarily in Colorado. She was fortunate to paint alongside several outstanding artists in their fields giving her a sensibility for different techniques.
Arenas primarily focuses on the medium of oil paintings on aluminum and wood panels, as well as charcoal drawings on paper. She is best known for her ability to convey stories of the human condition through the use of gesture, employing a limited palette, extensive grays, and expressive brush strokes. One of her most noteworthy projects is "The Museum Series," which began in 2016 and continues to the present. This series marks a significant breakthrough in her career, as it departs from the confines of realism and ventures into the realm of exaggerated gestures and vibrant colors.
Arenas' talent and artistic achievements have been showcased in various prestigious exhibitions and have earned her a place in several private national and international art collections. She is a member of several art organizations including the American Women Artists, the American Impressionist Society and the Bold Brush Inner Circle. Notable exhibitions displaying her works include the American Women Artists National Exhibition 2023 in Charleston, South Carolina, the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art Annual National Juried Exhibition 2023 in Wausau, Wisconsin, and the American Impressionist Society National Exhibition 2022 in Boulder, Colorado, further solidifying her presence and influence within the American art community.
Statement
Since 2010, my practice has been a dedicated exploration of the human form and its relationship with the spaces it occupies. Working primarily in oils on solid surfaces, I utilize a limited palette—often the Zorn palette—to find harmony within complexity and to prioritize the emotional weight of a scene over literal color representation.
My work is rooted in Contemporary Figurative Impressionism. Rather than seeking the clinical precision of a photograph, I use bold, gestural brushwork and high-contrast values to capture the "energy" of a moment. I believe that a painting should say what a camera cannot; it should convey the atmosphere, the temperature, and the quiet narrative of human presence.
I am particularly drawn to the theatre of public spaces. In my Museum Series, I document the interaction between the viewer and the viewed. By painting groups of people in galleries, I explore the layers of observation—how we look at art, how we look at each other, and how we ourselves become part of the exhibit. My goal is to invite the viewer into this dialogue, using strong silhouettes and edited details to create a narrative that is both specific and universal.
Ultimately, my paintings are an exercise in simplification. By stripping away the non-essential through a limited palette and confident mark-making, I aim to uncover the underlying beauty of the everyday human experience.
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