2023 | Cold Wax and Mixed Media on Canvas | Framed Original Painting
When did being alone become something to apologize for?
In Modern Day Leper, a solitary female figure appears alongside a vintage dress form, surrounded by expressive layers of pink, coral, golden yellow, and fragmented imagery. Across the composition, a provocative question emerges: “When did being alone become the modern-day equivalent of being a leper?”
The painting challenges the cultural assumptions surrounding singlehood, particularly the expectation that a woman's life is somehow incomplete without a romantic partner. Through a combination of nostalgic imagery, expressive abstraction, and embedded text, the work examines how independence can be mistaken for loneliness—and how the absence of a relationship can become an identity imposed by others.
The vintage dress form introduces another layer of meaning. Suggesting the carefully constructed ideals of femininity, it evokes the expectations women are encouraged to fit into, both literally and metaphorically. Nearby, the solitary woman exists within a vibrant, unpredictable composition that resists the orderly narrative of traditional domestic and romantic fulfillment.
Layers of cold wax and mixed media create a richly textured surface, with spontaneous brushwork and fragments of found imagery interrupting the familiar visual language of the past. The contrast between nostalgic references and contemporary questioning reveals how deeply certain expectations remain embedded in our culture.
Part of Alissa Van Atta's She's a Mess collection, Modern Day Leper explores the relationship between solitude, identity, and social belonging. Both playful and confrontational, the painting questions why women are so often defined by their relationship status rather than the richness of their individual lives.
Ultimately, Modern Day Leper invites viewers to reconsider a familiar assumption: perhaps being alone isn't the problem. Perhaps it's the expectation that we shouldn't be.
Artwork Details
Artist: Alissa Van Atta
Title: Modern Day Leper
Year: 2023
Medium: Cold wax and mixed media on canvas
Artwork Dimensions: 12 H × 12 W × 0.5 D inches
Framed Dimensions: 13 H × 13 W × 1.5 D inches
Collection: She's a Mess
Presentation: Framed original artwork
Original: One-of-a-kind, signed painting
Availability: Available
Price: $595
Original artwork by Alissa Van Atta.
2023 | Cold Wax and Mixed Media on Canvas | Framed Original Painting
When did being alone become something to apologize for?
In Modern Day Leper, a solitary female figure appears alongside a vintage dress form, surrounded by expressive layers of pink, coral, golden yellow, and fragmented imagery. Across the composition, a provocative question emerges: “When did being alone become the modern-day equivalent of being a leper?”
The painting challenges the cultural assumptions surrounding singlehood, particularly the expectation that a woman's life is somehow incomplete without a romantic partner. Through a combination of nostalgic imagery, expressive abstraction, and embedded text, the work examines how independence can be mistaken for loneliness—and how the absence of a relationship can become an identity imposed by others.
The vintage dress form introduces another layer of meaning. Suggesting the carefully constructed ideals of femininity, it evokes the expectations women are encouraged to fit into, both literally and metaphorically. Nearby, the solitary woman exists within a vibrant, unpredictable composition that resists the orderly narrative of traditional domestic and romantic fulfillment.
Layers of cold wax and mixed media create a richly textured surface, with spontaneous brushwork and fragments of found imagery interrupting the familiar visual language of the past. The contrast between nostalgic references and contemporary questioning reveals how deeply certain expectations remain embedded in our culture.
Part of Alissa Van Atta's She's a Mess collection, Modern Day Leper explores the relationship between solitude, identity, and social belonging. Both playful and confrontational, the painting questions why women are so often defined by their relationship status rather than the richness of their individual lives.
Ultimately, Modern Day Leper invites viewers to reconsider a familiar assumption: perhaps being alone isn't the problem. Perhaps it's the expectation that we shouldn't be.
Artwork Details
Artist: Alissa Van Atta
Title: Modern Day Leper
Year: 2023
Medium: Cold wax and mixed media on canvas
Artwork Dimensions: 12 H × 12 W × 0.5 D inches
Framed Dimensions: 13 H × 13 W × 1.5 D inches
Collection: She's a Mess
Presentation: Framed original artwork
Original: One-of-a-kind, signed painting
Availability: Available
Price: $595
Original artwork by Alissa Van Atta.
