SUSAN MALFA

ARTIST STATEMENT:

Susan Malfa, “I am an artist and gardener.  My work champions human interaction with the natural world as an antidote to our angsty digital lives. My work is a campaign, a reminder that people, plants, and the planet are in a mutually dependent relationship in which we can heal each other.

Working with plants or taking a walk, heals us. Neuroscience proves this and being with nature is routine in my self-care.  I dig in the dirt.  I take a walk outdoors. I observe nature.  She takes care of me. My paintings are of plants, the places they exist, the beauty they offer and the role humans and plants play in our fragile ecosystem.

I build color depth with thin paint layers on canvas, paper, mylar or panel primarily using oil paint but gouache, tempera, acrylics, pastels, pencils, plant pigments are in my tool box. I am fascinated by and include people’s hands in my work, our tools touching and impacting our planet.   Paintings are generally 16”x 20” in size. I scale the size of the work depending on the subject. For example, an oversized dandelion or thistle underscores the beauty of a weed, an essential plant for pollinators and our ecosystem.

My paintings are figurative and a touch abstraction. Color, marks, lines are applied with varying speed. My compositions are a poetic take on weeds, flowers, and places.  I am currently working on a series incorporating the symbolic plants in Northern Renaissance art. Plants are integral to our well-being, our connection to planet Earth and each other