Aliza Nisenbaum
Susanna Paints, 2022
Oil on canvas
63 × 57 inches (160 × 144.8 cm)

In Susanna Paints, Aliza Nisenbaum guides the viewer’s eye straight to the act of making, centering Susanna Coffey at her easel with an absorption that radiates outward. The palette, brushes, and scattered tools draw attention in careful rhythm, while the surrounding walls and surfaces echo the same greens, oranges, and purples, subtly pulling the gaze back to the figure and her gesture. Through this orchestration of color, form, and perspective, Nisenbaum ensures that the painting is never just a depiction of a space—it is a space through which we move toward the subject, toward the act of creation itself.

About the artist

Aliza Nisenbaum paints subjects in vivid color, creating compositions that are filled with floral motifs, fabrics, limbs, bodies, and objects. Somehow, from within the lively painting, her figures’ faces approach with humility and honesty. Typically painting from life, Nisenbaum embeds herself into personal moments, conveying her subjects with authenticity.