Artist Statement
The universe is dualistic in nature, being comprised of a natural, physical realm and a supernatural, metaphysical realm. Though the two are separate realms, they interact with and depend on each other. My art explores duality; abstractions and entities that exist within the metaphysical realm, and the enigmas that they create.
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My artwork engages with dualistic concepts. Our universe has two planes: the physical plane and the metaphysical plane. This dualistic split inspires me to create pieces that deal with the relationship of the mind to the body. Dysphoria and dysmorphia create feelings of alienation between our own bodies and minds.
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Besides the duality of body and mind, I focus primarily on metaphysical dual concepts; beauty and pain, hope and hopelessness, life and death; in particular, the split between beauty and pain, or the darkness that embodies it. Beauty is the fragile concept of good in the world. The things that make life seem bearable; they uplift and make life wonderful. But the darkness is a strong rival. Darkness is the evil in the world. It makes life painful and unbearable. It is oppressive and makes death seem appealing. The two are such polar opposites, and yet they both appear in daily life. There is no reality without darkness in it, and any reality without beauty becomes meaningless and soon ends. Yet the two not only coexist but are codependent. They must both exist to know either truly, and they indeed, comingle, creating beauty in pain and darkness in beauty.
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​Conversely, while I explore the concept of beauty, the ultimate goal of my work is to engage the dark entities that live in the metaphysical plane. They have many forms of existence there. Some are ideas and concepts, some are beings given life through the conception in the mind, and some have consciousnesses of their own. Sadness and depression are emotions and ideas which I primarily explore through the creation of dark entities. As humans, we often struggle to engage with things that don’t have both a physical and metaphysical component like we do. It is difficult to understand and cope with the metaphysical reality of depression as it destroys minds and lives. Yet while it may foster feelings of powerlessness, there is power in, despite the destruction it causes, drawing inspiration from the pain to create. By giving things that only exist in the metaphysical realm form, it makes them easier to understand, relate to, and wrestle with. By giving metaphysical entities form, their being is, like humanity, split between metaphysical and physical, and the acuteness of their existence in the metaphysical plane is dulled, making them ponderable. My goal in creating art is to give form to the formless.
Bio
Arren was born in Englewood, NJ, and grew up in the suburbs of Lincoln Park. They were homeschooled up until 6th grade, at which point they began to attend Trinity Christian School of Montville. They have been creating art since they were in elementary school, taking inspiration from the other members of their family, mainly their older brother and sister. They continued to attend TCS in high school where they took an art elective and experimented with various media. Several of their artworks were displayed in the school halls frequently, and one went on to be featured in the art show of the Association of Christian Schools International. After graduating High School at TCS, they began studying art at County College of Morris, and are currently seeking an Associate’s in Fine Art. After graduating CCM, they plan to do freelance commissions until they are ready to go for their bachelor’s degree at another university. They hope to use their art in the future primarily in illustration, illustrating for comics and books.