Tenderbeing: Human Experiences in the Language of Plants
“In Tenderbeing, Ariadna Dane charts a profound inward turn... where her past paintings explored the visual poetry of nature, Tenderbeing feels like a slow, courageous excavation of the self.”
Tenderbeing
Tenderbeing began as a shift from observing and repeating the nature in my previous work - to embodying it as a metaphor for what it means to be human. I reflected on the defining moments in my life - motherhood, grief, letting go - and instead of trying to depict them, I imagined them as plants. This was the way of speaking about something vulnerable, in a way that felt both safe and honest. I wrestled with each one of these works. Some of them kept me up at night - because they came from places I hadn’t spoken from before.
Each work is an emotional portrait meant to be felt, and is accompanied by a short poem, offering an entryway through which to experience it. Every piece is monochrome, focused, and includes a cutout: a deliberate absence, a shape that once held something, or where meaning lives subtly. The forms are close and sometimes even cropped - like a memory recalled not as a scene, but as a feeling. Plants became a way to speak about being a human - without defending, justifying or explaining. They bend, break, heal, regrow. So do we.
My interview with Rise Art delves into Tenderbeing, exploring the inspirations, process, and themes woven through the series: Interview with Rise Art.
