Viva, Viva!

Last week, I was thrilled to see an exhibition of the art of Viva Hoffmann at the Thousand Islands Arts Center in Clayton, N.Y. Viva Hoffmann is an artist, actress, and author and was one of Andy Warhol's Factory Girls in the 1960s.

Viva was born in Syracuse, N.Y. and spent her summers on Wellesley Island, N.Y. in the Thousand Islands. She came from a very strict Catholic family and was the oldest of nine children. Viva attended parochial school and the Catholic College, Marymount. After college Viva moved to Manhattan and rebelled against her strict Catholic upbringing. She worked as a model at the Art Student's League, became a regular at Andy Warhol's factory, and was featured in many of Warhol's films.

From an early age, Viva had a penchant for drawing. When she was just five years old her father (a renowned criminal defense lawyer) took her to court with him and had her draw courtroom portraits. She attended the Everson Museum School in Syracuse, N.Y. and during her Junior year of college she studied art at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Dying Willow - Swiftwater Point, Wellesley Island, 1991 Viva Hoffmann

Viva's painting style is that of the New York school of abstract expressionism - paint is applied rapidly and with force to the canvas in an effort to convey feelings and emotions.

Waterson's Marsh in Spring - Wellesley Island State Park, 1999 Viva Hoffmann

Old Bridge Road - Wellesley Island, 2000 Viva Hoffmann

Rock Island Lighthouse, Viva Hoffmann

Looking toward US Mainland shore from Swiftwater Point in Spring, Viva Hoffmann

Viva is best know for her landscape paintings although she has also done a series of self-portrait icon paintings depicting herself as a Goddess. They are based on iconic Tibetan Palden Lhamo images.

Palden Lhamo, Goddess of Destruction over Swiftwater Point with Loui Nehez on Dragon, Viva Hoffmann

In these self-portraits, Viva portrays herself as a Goddess flying high above the Saint Lawrence River. The pictures are filled with personal symbolism.

Quan Yin, Goddess of Empathy over Rock Island Lighthouse, Viva Hoffman

The show at the Thousand Islands Arts Center runs until August 29th.