Linda Dennery

b. Philadelphia, 1947, is an artist living and working in Manhattan.

Abstracting her subject matter from the natural world, she delves into her subconscious to explore its meaning. Her chosen phenomenon - animal, vegetable, or mineral - typically unusual and striking. Her work combines a reverence for classical technique and hues with all the excitement and advantage of modern acrylic.

Her goal is to surprise the viewer with something mysterious, yet somehow familiar.

Close-up of a smiling Linda with short gray hair, wearing earrings and a dark, patterned top, indoors.
Two large paintings on easels in an art studio. The left painting depicts a young girl with curly hair holding a coin in each hand against a golden background. The right painting shows a woman with curly hair in a colorful outfit, performing on stage with a golden background. The studio has art supplies and a window in the background.

Artist Statement

A red hand.
Donatello for joy.
Michelangelo, form.
Leonardo, imagination.
Rembrandt, humanity.
Vermeer? Colored the light.
Then Claude put the sun in the sky,
Turner painted the wind. 
Constable’s palette.
Tiepolo’s ceilings.
Goya’s outrage.
The beautiful mystery of Blake and Redon.
Dali. Sheer technique.
—the Masters.

There’s nothing more intimidating than a blank canvas. So where to begin? For me, always with a natural subject. Left brain, Right Hand: Nail the essence. Match it to a Master.
Right brain, Left hand: Gestures of bravado. Stunned silence.
Transformed by the Master’s palette, gestures have become abstractions half-acknowledging unconscious memory. Long before Before. Another gesture.
Transparencies. Drowning again in the Great Mystery. Glazes. More glazes.
Struggling. Now what? Now where?
Another gesture. Another question. More gestures. More questions. Seeking, seeking, Time passes
—I surface, surprised by the dance of color as any viewer.

EDUCATION

  • New York School of the Arts

  • Art Students League, New York

  • Forstall Art Workshops, New Orleans

  • NYU, Drawing at the Met

  • School Art League of Philadelphia

  • Doctor of Humane Letters (Honorarium) - Kean University

  • MA, Health Services Administration - Webster University

  • MA, Human Resources Development - Webster University

  • BA, Political Science, Labor Economics - University of Pittsburgh

A red and black splattered abstract design resembling a planet or a moon with a black background.

The Ladybug

It is currently artistic convention not to sign your painting on the front. Instead, we sign on the back. It was not always so. For example, John Singer Sargent notably “signed” his pieces with a stylized butterfly.

After my darling son died, I took a leaf out of Sargent’s book and decided to add Michael’s ladybug to my paintings when they sell.

A traditional good luck symbol, a ladybugs was always embroidered on Michael’s garments when he was an infant. From that time on, whenever I wrote to him or sent a package, a ladybug was included in one form or another.

It is my talisman.