Rena Small

Rena Small (born 1954) is an American conceptual artist who works primarily in photography, selective painting and Language Art components.^[1] Small is best known for her ongoing series the Artists' Hands Grid Continuum, https://www.artforum.com/picks/rena-small-4581, consisting of mostly black and white photographs, some with selective hand-painted details and 21st Century Color Ink Jet images, of the hands of prominent 20th and early 21st American artists.^[2] She began the project in 1984.^[3]The project is a life work and will end when Small's life does too. "Artists' Hands highlights portraits of hands, not faces, as another reservoir of personal expression. I choose artists who have accomplished strong bodies of work over a period of decades. To me, hands are a study of the human soul reflected in the mirror of my camera." Rena Small 2023 https://renasmall.com

Collections

• George Eastman Museum^[4]
• J. Paul Getty Museum^[5]
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art^[6]
• Norton Simon Museum^[7]
• Princeton University Art Museum^[8]
• RISD Museum^[9]
• Seattle Art Museum^[10]

References

1. "Art review: Rena Small at Jancar". July 22, 2010.
2. "Review: An absorbing look at the hands of artists". Los Angeles Times. March 21, 2014.
3. "Life". Time, Incorporated. January 9, 1996 – via Google Books.
4. "Works | Rena Small | People | George Eastman Museum". collections.eastman.org.
5. "Rena Small (American, born 1954) (Getty Museum)". The J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles.
6. "Johnny Carson's Curtain Series | LACMA Collections". collections.lacma.org.
7. "Browse By Artist » Norton Simon Museum". www.nortonsimon.org.
8. "Andy Warhol (2013-77)". artmuseum.princeton.edu.
9. "Richard Misrach Artists' Hands | RISD Museum". risdmuseum.org.
10. "Rena Small – Artists – eMuseum". art.seattleartmuseum.org.