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New Paintings
Summer Collection
“To be painted is to be remembered. It is to be told that you belong to history. My work begins with the belief that beauty has no singular face, and that the canvas has always been large enough for everyone, every idea, and just a little bit of everything.”
Rena
The Artist Behind the Work
Rena
Rena Risby meaning a joyful dwelling among the meadow, is both the family name and studio name of Alexandria Risby, and there is perhaps no more fitting way to describe the world she paints into existence.
Based in Los Angeles, Rena is a painter and art educator creating figurative works rooted in Black domestic life, childhood nostalgia, and her family’s connection to the history and romance of the American South. Her practice draws from traditional European painting techniques and the Old Masters, alongside folklore and the worn pages of vintage children’s books that captivated her from girlhood.
The result is a body of work that feels familiar yet entirely its own. As a teaching artist with the City of Los Angeles, Rena brings that same dedication to Black and Hispanic communities that have historically had limited access to arts education.
Her work exists for anyone who has ever wanted to feel like they belong in a painting, to be seen in a way that goes beyond what a photograph can offer.
"Every portrait I paint is an act of love for the subject, for the craft, and for everyone who has ever longed to see themselves in it."
