Arlene Rush - Fragments, Parts Pieces - Untitled

"In this series Fragments, Parts & Pieces - Untitled, I explore issues surrounding gender, identity, and the constructs imposed upon us by our society’s gender norms in the climate of our era.

The vaginal petal forms with stamen-like tentacles are the creation of gender representation referencing the body and nature, bringing to mind the connection and similarities between human beings and the mutually dependent origins shared.

As a conceptual multidisciplinary artist, my art expands to incorporate sculptural objects, installations, photo-base work and mixed media, challenging conventional boundaries assigned to artists."

Influenced by my life experiences and world events, I address the struggles of biases and inequality ranging from a personal level to socio-political spheres. Inquiries on the issues of gender, identity, equality, beauty and loss have pervaded my work. I address the disparities of dire distress and extreme dangers to our social and political justice system that is failing us. My work touches on the resolve and fragility of human existence, and universal themes of power.

With my work being aligned with feminist ideology I also reflect on the challenges of being a woman sculptor, and the fraught and difficult politics connected to an art practice in New York City. I interrogate the patriarchal lens through which my work is viewed and create work that opens up a dialogue with the viewer to contemplate our shared collective spaces."

About the Artist:

Arlene Rush, a conceptual multidisciplinary artist who works art exists among ideas of a feminist ideology, political engagement, and a strong sense of identity.

She has exhibited extensively in museums and galleries worldwide and is represented by AHA Fine Art, NYC. Rush was the recipient of a residency in Barcelona in 1988, from the CFEVA and the Pat Hearn & Colin De Land Foundation Grant in 2011. In 2020, she received the Carole Eisner Award For Sculpture. She is on The Creative Center’s Advisory Council.

Her work is in numerous collections, including: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Museum of Modern Art, Museu Brasileiro de Escultura, Library of Congress, Mark Golden Collection, and ARCO Chemical. Rush has been reviewed in numerous publications: The New York Times, Hyperallergic, Huffington Post, New York Daily News, ANTE Magazine, Time Out New York, Artsy Editorial, Rheinische Post, The New Yorker, and Lilith Magazine.