50 Over 50: Painting the Invisible - Susanna Andreini's Elemental Beings

Susanna Andreini works with the invisible realms—concrete with Elemental Beings. At 60, the stunning results of her recent paintings, the absolutely unexpected colors, motifs, and expression touched her in a very deep way and encouraged her to explore this way of artistic expression even deeper.

She's exploring her connection to the Elemental Beings, offering them her canvas as their stage. They dance on it, try out different forms, sometimes as lines, sometimes similar to human faces and mime. She's working on beings between tapestry and painting—with the Elemental world, giving them her canvas as their stage.

Her work definitely changed with menopause. She made theater before, then went on with sculpture, films, books—and suddenly, at 54, painting called. Loud and clear.

Only at that age do you really develop your very own language. There is an incredible beauty in it.

What's actually hard about being an artist at this point? There's a strong belief among galleries and art collectors that they would find valuable artwork only around art universities and institutions, whereas her experience is that the most interesting and innovative artwork is to be found with truly free women. So she still feels overlooked and not really seen with her artwork.

Someone just turned 50 and wants to start making art—what does she tell them? You have all you need inside of yourself. Go for it—and look for support to keep on going.

Does she try to keep up with what matters in the art world? That's clear: The art world needs much more women artists that dare to really go the feminine pathways. Without any competitions, rivalry, and a deeply healed/healing sisterhood wound.

What do artists her age bring to the table that younger artists don't? Consistency, clarity, experience, support, perseverance, focus.

What keeps her going when everything feels impossible? That she is art herself. It makes her happy to paint. It is her safe space.

What does she wish she'd known when she was younger? That you need the gift of discernment to avoid wrong turnings where people just suck you out and there's no energy-balance to be expected.

She's painting the Invisible. It's about doing justice to the concrete beings, the topic. Intuitive choice, lines are important. Feelings are very important and questions like: "How do the people feel the paintings?"

Born in 1965, living and working in Salzburg and Vienna as well as repeatedly participating in artist residencies in Europe and the USA. Following her strong inner calling, she founded the Salzburger Figurentheater (a puppet theater) in 2003 at the age of 37. From around 2009 onwards, she became increasingly interested in the visual aspect of her work. Figures became sculptures, and finally oil painting called to her.

This year marks 22 years as a full-time artist. Over the last two decades she has produced 26 stage plays/performances/vernissages of her own, written one book, illustrated another one, made two films, shown installations and interactive exhibitions, and created a steadily growing body of work comprising drawings and paintings in oil and gouache, which now numbers over 800 works. She also offers regularly so-called 'Painting Walks' and Energetic Art Talks©.

She has won six art/culture awards and in 2017, participated in the Art Biennale in Venice with three sculptures and the art film 'Women in Red and the Awesome Oh!'.

She'd like to find or be found by a gallery who is energetically an art temple. She's offering the Elemental Beings her canvas as their stage. They dance on it, try out different forms. She's painting the Invisible.

At 54, painting called. Loud and clear. At 60, the unexpected colors and expression touch her in a very deep way. Only at that age do you really develop your very own language.

There is an incredible beauty in it.

Connect with Susanna: Website: susanna-andreini.at Instagram: @susanna_andreini_artist

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