Uncommon Vision

Approach

      Art helped me define who I was and distinguish myself from my twin brother at a time when women were considered less. Instead of being referred to as one of “the twins,” by the time I was 10 years old I was known as the twin who could draw.  My path was set. Art became the heart of my identity. 

As an artist, my life and creative process are connected. Underpinning my joie de vivre is an analytical mind that never stops trying to comprehend and make sense of human behavior, relationships, and motivations. Regardless of the subject matter of an artwork or the resulting effect, during the creative process I am consciously and unconsciously engaged in unraveling mysteries and seeking answers...or if not answers, at least some explanation of a scenario that makes sense.

          I love the physicality of painting and sculpting. I am what some people refer to as an “action painter,” and I firmly believe that Art is an action word. Entering my studio, I turn on the music and tune into my intuition and emotions. I continually move around my paintings in a painting-specific improvisational dance and that energy serves as the undercarriage of my work.  I often have up to ten paintings and at least one sculpture in various stages of progress. Sometimes I work from sketches, but generally I go into the studio armed with an idea, a memory, or a strong emotion. As I tune out the world and lose myself in the creative process, I splash, pour, draw, and sculpt with paint and plaster, layering to create the undertones and undercurrents of a particular scenario or dynamic. Such thoughts, movements, and emotions weave themselves into the undercarriage of my work.

          I begin each work in thoughtfulness and introspection. While creating, I give free rein to my intuition, submerging into the activity of painting. Listening to a lively or moody Jazz (Maynard Ferguson, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Claude Nougaro), a beloved Rock or Blues selection (Vanessa Collier), or a nostalgic song by Chimene Badi, I approach each painting or sculpture with anticipation and joy, knowing levels of resolution and discovery await me. As a piece is taking shape, I alternate between periods of intuition and critical thinking - thoughtfully evolving each piece and engaging alternatively in automatism, construction, and deconstruction. Everything - every stroke and thought - that goes into the creation of a painting and sculpture is integral to its existence and part of its message.

                                            - Yours in Art and with gratitude,

                                                             Elaine Weiner-Reed

Weiner-Reed was an Artist-in-Residence (2018-2020; Studio 310B) at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts.

Visit her studio in MD. Learn how she works by watching her free teaching video series, “Fear No! Reality Abstracted” on her YouTube Channel (here).

STATEMENT

Paths intersect.  Lives are impacted. Identities evolve.

Everything happens for a reason.

Art is my voice

My work is an attempt to comprehend life, identity, relationships, and human dynamics, all-the-while honoring the journey. As I walk my own path, I am inspired and humbled by the resiliency and courage of others. Realize that YOU INSPIRE ME.

From my life experiences, I create stories for others to re-imagine.

I create abstract assemblages in shape, color, and line. Finding beauty in the imperfect and the unfinished, my work focuses on relationship dynamics and every-day or chance encounters as they impact identity. It is an ongoing excavation into the psychology of relationships from the inside out. I explore the energy, motivations, chemistry, and undercurrents between individuals. I focus on unraveling the complexity and mystery of human emotion. Identity is explored in all its layers and complexity: one size does not fit all. My creative process involves building a character in layers, mimicking the way in which identities are formed throughout a lifetime: layer by colorful or complex layer. I let the form and placement of figures and shapes imply subsurface content and emotion. Focused on transience and imperfection, some common themes that run through my work are telling the unknown or hidden stories.

I explore the energy, motivations, chemistry, and undercurrents between individuals with a focus on unraveling the complexity and mystery of human emotion. Identity is explored in all its layers and complexity: one size does not fit all. The development of one’s identity is a complex, evolving combination of personal history, attributes, character traits, gender, societal and cultural events or encounters, and myriad other demographic factors and life experiences. As a result, my sculptures and paintings probe and explore the roots and evolution of identity, individuality, and relationships - featuring the individual within or outside of a group dynamic. Built of layers and hidden masks, my paintings and sculptures intrigue, pulling one in to explore and unravel mysteries on or beneath the surface.

Individuality and identity matter to me. In relationships, identities collide or connect, enmeshed in a temporal dance of their own design. In my work, I zoom in on an individual, defining some facets or features, and masking others. Depending on the story, I depict some as silhouettes, others as after-thoughts. My “Masks and Mirrors - Explorations of Identity” series honors the individual and the human spirit in all its color, resiliency, and fortitude. At times, we are vulnerable, unmasked, our undercarriage exposed. But we walk on. We rise, tired and sometimes broken, by sheer will continuing our journey. We cast shadows and leave traces.

My art honors survival and the individual spirit and history of people as they coexist, survive, and interact. I envision their stories as pictorial medleys evolving as their worlds turn.

“Life is messy, unfinished, and beautiful.”

Artist | Storyteller | Art-ivist*

Elaine Weiner-Reed's uncommon vision leads her to explore the narrative that lies between people and beneath the surface. In her paintings, she lets the form and placement of figures imply subsurface content, energy, and emotion. In her sculptures, she juxtaposes strength and inner beauty with vulnerability and external imperfections, encouraging viewers to explore the beauty found within and beneath the surface. Monuments to life, her works resurrect feelings of transcendence, mystery, and hope. She collaborates creatively for positive social change and to ignite imaginations. Her children's books are but one example (Amazon).  

     Born a twin, Elaine Weiner-Reed strove to resist her generation’s predetermined rules and boundaries to distinguish herself and create her own unique identity. Her search for identity and originality sharpened her mind, and forged an intuitive, free soul that fiercely guards and nourishes her art. Her artwork focuses on unraveling the complexity and mystery of human emotion, behavior, and relationships, featuring the individual within or outside of a group dynamic. Her art is an outgrowth of her fascination with relationships and with trying to understand them and their full and colorful spectrums of emotion and mystery.

AUTHOR

Best known for her artwork, Weiner-Reed published her first children’s book “Mommy Tiger” in April 2020. Unbeknownst to many of her art patrons and family members, she penned this and several other books and illustrations more than 25 years ago while working two careers and raising her son Nathan. Other books are in progress…

Curriculum Vitae

Elaine Weiner-Reed is an award-winning bilingual visual artist living in Maryland. She earned a B.A. and a B.S. in French (language, linguistics, literature, and education) with a German minor and undeclared second minor in Sculpture from West Chester University, Pennsylvania (1978, 1979). While working as a French linguist, writer, and researcher in the public sector, she earned an M.A. in French from Middlebury College, Vermont (Language and Linguistics, 1989). She earned a professional post-graduate certificate in Information Technology and Telecommunications from Johns Hopkins University School of Business and Professional Studies (2002). Her qualifications include juror, lecturer, blogger, committee member, and instructor. Weiner-Reed’s art has been included in international exhibitions in China, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Spain, France, Poland, Canada, and over 80 international, national, and regional exhibits – including three solo and two group shows in Chelsea. In 2020, she wrote, illustrated, and published three children’s books (Amazon.com). Her artwork is in public, private, corporate, and museum collections in the U.S. and Europe.

Sponsored Scholarships/Residencies

●     International Artist Residency, Myslenice, Poland (July 2014 and 2017): Selectee/Participant in the Poland Ministry of Culture and European Union-sponsored and funded Warsztaty Artystyczne – Towarzystwo.

Grants

●    Public Art Across Maryland Planning Grant – “Lives Well-Lived” Public Art Planning Grant: Awarded grant as Lead Artist by the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC); May 2023.

●    MSAC Creativity Grant - “Spirited Women” Creativity Grant:  Awarded Individual Artist grant; November 2022