ARLEEN G. HENDLER

My exploration of figurative painting continues in this new work. I paint everyday life, “la vie quotidienne”. Streets, people at work, vehicles, and signs are the subject matter. The paintings contain elements of what I see from the driver's seat, what's just ahead. I haven't worked from photos in these pictures, but have used bits and pieces of newspaper imagery.  A sense of precariousness and movement is in these paintings, a seemingly persistent quality in some past work, which I think just comes about due to my nature. These paintings differ from the paintings of movie theaters, buildings and streets I've done in the past in which weather and atmosphere were important. These paintings are flatter, more abstract, and composed in a free- associative, intuitive way. This is the way I worked when I began painting. 

I've flattened out the space, combined different viewpoints in the same painting so that some elements are depicted from an aerial perspective and others are seen straight on. Scale does not follow a logical path.  As always, drawing, placement, and composition  continue to be my primary concern reflecting my internal need to create simplicity and order.

Arleen G. Hendler
2010