Lisa Cuscuna

I studied photography and painting at The Cooper Union in New York. After a year of photography in South America I went to work in New York as a professional printer of black and white photography. I then moved into the audio visual field where I designed multimedia presentations for corporations, museums and the Broadway stage for over 30 years. Some examples of these are scenic projection for “Jane Eyre” and “you’re Welcome America” on Broadway, and multi-formatted displays for The International Olympic Museum in Lausanne Switzerland, The George Bush Presidential Library in Texas, The Petronas Discovery Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York. 

 

During those 30 years, I traveled extensively, photographing and building the vast library of images that I use in my work today. Many of my nature photographs are a combination of photography and painted strokes. My surrealistic pieces are created by multi-layering several images together. My photographic work has been shown in local art fairs and galleries in Fairfield County and New York. In 2006 I was awarded the Best in Art ribbon at the Stamford "Blues on Bedford" fair, and in 2008 I was awarded Best in Show. I've also had an article written about my photography in the Greenwich Time newspaper which can be viewed at lisacuscuna.com.

 

In my early years as a painter, I experimented with jars of liquid paint, pouring them together over canvases that were flat on the floor. I later developed ways of pouring backgrounds to look like landscapes and beaches which I added detail to with brushes like my beach paintings.  I became a surrealist for several years, combining poured landscapes with visions seen through translucent doors and windows. I love the way poured paint takes over and creates layers of textures and surfaces as it runs over more solid applications of paint. My work has evolved over time incorporating the technique of pouring paint onto the canvas with pallet and brushwork. My work has been influenced by other painters like Helen Frankenthaler, Paul Jenkins, Turner and Van Gogh.  

 

My paintings have been exhibited at Zorya Gallery in Greenwich and The Fattahi Fine Art Gallery in Stamford and New Canaan Connecticut, The Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery of Stamford, and The Karen Lynn Gallery in Boca Raton, Florida. Sandra Neustadter has been selling my work in White Plains, NY and Delray Beach, Florida for the past decade.  I am a member of the Greenwich Arts Council, and participate in Art events and shows that they sponsor, and I am on the board of directors of the Art Society of Old Greenwich. I was President of the Loft Artists Association from 2009 to 2013, a non-profit group of professional artists located in Stamford CT, and am now a board member of the LAA.