Paula Wittner
Paula Wittner’s works in oils and gouache range from the real to the fantastical. She draws on her own family and life to portray the intensely personal in a manner that is universal by documenting her journey in ways that we recognize as our own.
At times we see generations of a family with increasingly divergent and diverse experiences but shared cultural and spiritual anchors, at other times the people and landscapes of the American southwest, the carnival, commedia dell’arte and other traditions are her proximal subjects.
Wittner’s work is deeply informed by her upbringing but equally influenced by her insights into human nature. She takes the time to observe deeply, with great empathy and wit. As a result she portrays and thus reminds us of our experience of human emotions in the noble, the quotidian, and at times the less admirable, aspects of our existence.
These are works committed to truth and beauty; it is these qualities that allow us to enter her sphere easily, that draw us to these paintings, where we discover the familiar as well as the profound and recognize our memories and history in a manner that inspires us to create a shared, more humane future together.
Paula’s work ranges from memories to fantasies to homages. Some paintings spring from the canvas spontaneously while others have deliberate beginnings.
Born in Washington D.C. and raised in Silver Spring, Maryland, Paula Wittner received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Photography from the Rhode Island School of Design. During her final year of college, Wittner lived and studied in Rome, Italy as part of the European Honors Program. This experience and the exposure to classical art greatly impacted both the content and style of her work.
In 1972, Wittner moved to Arizona and became a cook at Arcosanti, Paolo Soleri’s “City of the Future”. Six months later, she returned to Maryland, revisited her artistic roots, and received her first exhibition at the Janet Fleischer Gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Encouraged by this success, Wittner decided to focus on her art and in 1982, settled in Patagonia, Arizona where she continues to live and work.
