Nina Catanese takes her artistic queue from illustrators such as the sensual and playful Aubrey Beardsley and from the darker, more brooding images produced by Harry Clarke and adds a taste of the exoticism and mysticism of the Far East to bring to fruition her own unique style.
Strange characters and symbols populate her dream-like landscape, gyrating and swirling in their dance of oddity. A lush world where festive, bejeweled fish swim languidly along strange and lovely mermaids, and a place where one can find an angel and a devil locked halo and horn in a half-serious game of tug-of-war.
Miss Catanese's work can be inviting as well as foreboding, not unlike the unpredictable journey we take every night to the realm of sleep. Her fascination with the realm of the subconscious began when she discovered the works of Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung at the age of fifteen. Since then, he has played an integral role in her art as well as in her creative process.
Miss Catanese began her journey as an artist early on, taking a liking to drawing and painting at the age of four. She later took an interest in mythology and literature. She is a graduate of Columbia College, with a BA in Fine Arts with a concentration in literature and art history. She is also a writer, singer and lyricist.