"Radiate" by Sunny Ra, 32x48in, oil on canvas (2016), $1300 | BUY NOW — *"Radiate" by Sunny Ra, 32x48in, oil on canvas (2016), $1300 | BUY NOW*

Artist, Sunny Ra. Photo by Dan Lubbers. — *Artist, Sunny Ra. Photo by Dan Lubbers.*

In striking abstract compositions, painter Sunny Ra uses the landscape form to investigate questions of identity in both a social and highly personal context.

“The foundation of my work originates from my experience of growing up Korean in Louisville, Kentucky. I did not have any Korean friends and since I spoke little Korean and could not read or write Hangul, I was an outsider in the Korean community. Similarly, I never quite identified myself as American since I was not white, and was living among majority white Americans. I remember people would ask me where I was from or comment on how well I spoke English. I grew up feeling and eventually believing that I did not belong anywhere - perhaps nowhere. It is from this limbo that my night landscapes emerge and my journey into the obscure and the unknown began.”

*"Untitled #3" by Sunny Ra, 9x12in, pastel on paper (2016)*

It is a common, and let’s be honest, lazy assumption to confuse an individual artist’s racial and cultural identity. Ra makes paintings with no overt ties to traditional Korean pictorial forms, and her formative culture was Middle American, so it is fascinating to hear how she connects the luxurious darkness of her imagery with an evolving personal journey.

“In these night landscapes, I revisit my childhood memories - what has been lost and what remains. Through the application of layers of paint, the images at first recognizable, slowly evolve and merge into the abyss of the dark palette. But through the darkness emerges light and color, a new image surfaces, perhaps this is where I belong.”

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Age: 35
Education: MFA, Hunter College, CUNY, 2011; BFA, University of Pennsylvania, 2005; Painting Certificate, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 2005
Website: http://www.sunny-ra.com

"Harvest" by Sunny Ra, 11x14in, oil on paper (2016), $450 | BUY NOW — *"Harvest" by Sunny Ra, 11x14in, oil on paper (2016), $450 | BUY NOW*

*"Untitled #2" by Sunny Ra, 9x12in, pastel on paper (2016)*

"Kinetic" by Sunny Ra, 14x11in, oil on paper (2016), $450 | BUY NOW — *"Kinetic" by Sunny Ra, 14x11in, oil on paper (2016), $450 | BUY NOW*

*"Untitled #1" by Sunny Ra, 9x12in, pastel on paper (2016)*

"Might" by Sunny Ra, 11x14in, oil on paper (2016), $450 | BUY NOW — *"Might" by Sunny Ra, 11x14in, oil on paper (2016), $450 | BUY NOW*

Are you interested in being on Artebella? Click here to learn more. — *Are you interested in being on Artebella?* *Click here* *to learn more.*

"Virtual Reflection" by Debra Lott, 36x72in (diptych), oil on canvas (2017), $2400 | BUY NOW — *"Virtual Reflection" by Debra Lott, 36x72in (diptych), oil on canvas (2017), $2400 | BUY NOW*

When painter Debra Lott observes that we live in a, “…world where the virtual and authentic collide and confuse,” the degree of understatement is not meant to be sarcastic, but simply a way to explain the foundation on which she has built her newest work. Self-portrait has not been such an overt theme in her previous work, although she has been focused on a woman’s existence in the contemporary society in a fashion so personal that it nearly passes as the same thing. Such is the nature of art that it always reveals something important about the artist.

Now Lott places herself unmistakably front and center to speak to the narcissistic tendencies of modern communication:

“My inspiration and influences are the popular mass media. This source became the tipping point for my experimentation into painting this series. The absurdity of the media images prompted me to take my work in a new direction. The paintings form satirical statements that incorporate figurative distortion and exaggeration while mocking the media’s use of photo- shopped, erotic, and often implausible poses.”

"Going to Great Lengths" by Debra Lott, 30x20in, oil on canvas (2016), $950  | BUY NOW — *"Going to Great Lengths" by Debra Lott, 30x20in, oil on canvas (2016), $950 | BUY NOW*

“My techniques include distortion, elongation, detachment and segmentation. The expressive brushstrokes and fantasy color schemes are symbolic of the theatrical and sensational drama of cultural media. My expressive and quasi abstract style combine color, form and texture to convey the illusion of beauty that is often construed as reality.

“My goal is to move in a direction toward further experimentation and abstraction. I began experimenting with the concept of ‘authentic’ versus ‘virtual’ especially as it applies to cultural media. To communicate this idea of counterfeit, I chose a complementary color scheme and ‘like values’ that allow the subject and background to overlap and create some uncertainty as to what is positive and negative space. My goal was to increase the abstraction of the content and cause the body to become part of the surrounding space.”

"Yes I Can" by Debra Lott, 30x48in, oil on canvas (2017), $1400 | BUY NOW — *"Yes I Can" by Debra Lott, 30x48in, oil on canvas (2017), $1400 | BUY NOW*

Lott presently has 2 pieces in the Owensboro Art Guild 55th Juried Exhibition, up through April 14th, 2017, and a solo show titled, Collections, runs through April 16, 2017 at the Pigment Gallery at Mellwood Arts Center in Louisville. There will be an Artist’s Reception, March 31st 6-9pm

"Self Love" by Debra Lott, 30x20in, oil on canvas (2017), $775 | BUY NOW — *"Self Love" by Debra Lott, 30x20in, oil on canvas (2017), $775 | BUY NOW*

Selected Adjudicated Exhibitions:
2018 - Owensboro Museum of Fine Art, OAG 55th Juried Exhibition, Owensboro, KY, February 25-April 14, 2017
2017 - Lexington Art League, Demographically Speaking, A Figurative Exhibition, Lexington, KY, January13-February 12, 2017
2016 - Art Comes Alive 2016, ART Design Consultants Inc. Cincinnati, OH, July 23-August 29, 2016 Figurative Artist of the Year Award
2015 - The Chautauqua National Exhibition, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY 1/26/2015-2/20/2015
2013 - The Art at the X National Juried Exhibition, Xavier University, Cincinnati, 'Multicultural Expressions of Faith', Award of Excellence, August 23-October 11, 2013
2010-2013 - National Art Education Women Caucus Juried Art Exhibition, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
2011 - 55th Mid-states Juried Art Exhibition, Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science, Indiana, December- March 2011
2010 - Manifest Gallery International Drawing Annual- Exhibition in Print, Cincinnati Ohio, art work selected - Seasons of Grace, Charcoal on Paper
2010   Water Tower Regional, Louisville Visual Art Association, KY, January 24-March 7, 2010
2009   54th Mid-States Juried Art Exhibition, Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science, Indiana, Dec 7-January 18, 2009.
2007   Mad Art Gallery, St Louis, Missouri, Contemporary Women Artists XIV, International Juried Exhibition, Sept 7-29, 2007, St Louis Chapter of the National Women’s Caucus for the Arts
2006   Kniznick Gallery of the Women’s Studies Research Center, Brandeis University, Boston, Vital Voices: Women’s Visions, 2006, (National Juried Exhibition in conjunction with National Women’s Caucus for the Arts)

Hometown: Lake Worth, Florida
Age: 65
Education: MAT with a concentration in painting, Florida Atlantic University, a BA in Art Education, Palm Beach Atlantic University
Gallery Representation: PYRO Gallery
Website: http://www.debralott.com/

"Original Selfie" by Debra Lott, 24x24in, oil on canvas (2017), $675 | BUY NOW — *"Original Selfie" by Debra Lott, 24x24in, oil on canvas (2017), $675 | BUY NOW*

foundation

Vignette: Sunny Ra

Vignette: Debra Lott