Dena Robertson

Dena is an artist living in Los Angeles. Originally from Indiana, she also lived in Baltimore and New York. Dena has exhibited in multiple group shows and solo exhibitions. 

The work Dena creates explores the connection humans have to nature and the disconnection that often occurs in modern society. Abstractions and landscape imagery of simple elements from urban and rural environments are used to explore the relationship.

Dena uses many thin layers of acrylic and oil paint on her canvases to make the abstract environments.  The works are also layered with her photographs taken in urban and rural areas across the world.  

Dena Shares: “From a young age I was a wanderer. I spent my childhood surrounded by farms, creeks, and lakes in Indiana. Although this might sound like an idyllic setting, boredom was constant. We lived miles from the nearest town. This led me to creating with the natural resources around me.

I sculpted the mounds of grass from mowing into forts. I created these imaginary stories and soon the yard became my gallery. I gathered rocks and leaves from the woods. I'd dig clay out of nearby creeks, sculpt it and try to fire my works in our kitchen oven. This desire to create led me to study art at the Maryland Institute, College of Art in Baltimore, MD, where I received my BFA in painting.

Upon arriving in Baltimore, I was truly fascinated and overwhelmed by the city. My work became abstract, full of energy, tension, and chaos as I tried to process city life. Falling in love with the urban environment, I moved to New York City for a year to study with independent artists. Upon finishing my studies, I moved back to Baltimore.

Shortly after, I moved to Los Angeles where my work would take a big color shift; working mostly in black and white. The feeling of chaos started to dissipate and I began examining the human relationship to nature.

We all naturally gravitate towards the outdoors - a horizon line, water, open air or plant life. Multiple environmental issues today are affecting our water, soil, and air. These elements are increasingly polluted as we have allowed ourselves to disconnect from the landscape around us. Reestablishing this connection is vital."