Artist Portfolio Magazine’s 20 Art Competition

Susana Rapallo – Northfield, MA
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I don’t set out to produce art about one subject or another. My current work tends to focus on the female relationships, complexities of emotion, and feelings within the family dynamic. But I have explored others subjects like people on streets, abstracts of fruits and seasons, masks of Venice Carnival, cities that I have lived or not. Sometimes my work is figurative, spanning in style from representational to abstract, and is sometimes a combination of both. Each project often consists of multiple works, often in a range of different media, grouped around specific themes and meanings. I like to explore funny aspects of people, like yoga poses and weird faces. I have a lot of sketches about it.

My palette is both delicate and vibrant, capturing a glimpse of strong, yet subtle female feelings. For me, the female psyche is represented by clouds and drips of paint, which highlight the rich texture of the canvas. I enjoy using natural powder pigments that allow me to play with shadows and light, which I find to be transformative in and of themselves. The colors interact to alter the final results of the painting, forming details which are often completely unexpected. I am fascinated by how the colors and forms of my paintings transport me to different parts of my own life journey.