Betsy Arizu

Biography:

1956-

American

Betsy Arizu is an abstract painter whose work explores color, spaciousness, atmosphere, and contemplative perception through layered nonrepresentational painting. Working with acrylic and latex paint, painted papers, and mixed media on canvas and board, she creates luminous fields in which subtle relationships of color, texture, and light emerge over time.

Inspired by both contemporary abstraction and contemplative traditions, her paintings invite direct experience, reflection, and sustained attention.

Arizu studied at the University of South Florida, California College of the Arts, John F. Kennedy University, and Kala Art Institute. She lives and works in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Curator's Statement from Textural Modernism: Original Works on Paper and Canvas

"The work of this artist represents all the finest components found in the vocabulary of textural modernism. The devices set forth by the painter repeatedly explore this language. While Arizu adheres to certain compositional constraints, the viewer finds endless layers of content including blended colors and textures distilled to a purely visual level delightful to the artistic experience."  ~Marcie Hoffman Porges (2006)