Influenced by a concern for the environment, my practice includes drawing, cut paper, sculpting, and weaving with non-traditional materials such as humanely sourced bee cadavers. At its core, the work explores the wonderment of balance within the natural world and the counterpoint of technology.

Gleaning from a collection of flora and fauna stored in my freezer I make quiet, intimate pieces with materials that have an inherent history or association. Abraham Joshua Heschel said that "Indifference to the sublime wonder of living is the root of sin;" it is in response to this that the elemental approach in my work reflects simpler methodologies, such as cut paper or drawing, and examines a more direct and intimate relationship with our environment.

 
 

Natural Capital, 2024

Abject Signals, 2022

Symbiotic Crisis, 2014-2021

Systemic, 2022

Feed, 2015-2020

Multigenerational Recipes, 2009-2012

 

Installation Images

“Arena points to the marvelous in her drawing of fruit, nuts, seeds, bees, and fragments of honeycomb. Each object is drawn in miniature scale, sometimes so small that the artist has to hang a magnifying glass next to the artwork to allow viewers to see the details. There is a quiet longing in Arena’s patient depictions of endangered species(bees), overripe pomegranates, and the desiccated carcass of a tiny bird. Her nostalgic allusions to death and loss function as Postmodern momento mori, reminding us that the material world is a fleeting phenomenon.”

- Betty Brown for Artillery Magazine

Variability of Knowing, 643 Project Space, 2018

Variability of Knowing, 643 Project Space, 2018

Variability of Knowing, 643 Project Space, 2018

Variability of Knowing, 643 Project Space, 2018

 

Carbon, Fellows of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 2018