TEMPTER PIECES
ARTIST STATEMENT:
My paintings have a sensory agenda. Like music that affects us somatically, images can also resonate in the body.
The symbols in my work are used as vessels for color and composition. Although each form holds significance, they perform as mediums. Their color, light, movement, and mood are the first conduits of meaning.
Hands are a sign of lucidity in dreams, signaling one’s power to willfully imagine. Throughout history, hands have also been a special focus in painting. The agency of the artist, the symbol of touch, and the magic of transposition whisper through the hands in paintings from ancient times to the Renaissance and through the present moment.
The hands pictured in my work embody possibility. The dark grounds they move within amplify their subtleties while holding mystery. Seduction and alchemy manifest in the reference and treatment of plant life. Vines studded with roses and moonflowers reach, bend, and cascade, illuminated by unknown sources or glowing from within.
I hope these images are accessible as they are enigmatic. Ultimately, the romance of painting itself underscores my work. Rich in history and free to enter, paintings invite us to pause and connect with the enchantment inside of us. In a frenetic world, this is still vital work.
BIO:
Aliza Morell lives and works in Queens, New York. She holds an MFA from Rutgers University (2014) and a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2005). Her paintings have been shown throughout New York at Thierry Goldberg Gallery, SPRING\BREAK Art Show, Small Editions, Castor Gallery, Nancy Margolis Gallery, Knockdown Center, Pioneer Works and Elijah Wheat Showroom, as well as Pulse Art Fair (Miami Beach, FL) and Camayhus Gallery, (Atlanta GA), among other venues. Her work was included in New American Paintings Northeast in 2022, 2017 and 2014.
