Visit with Arlina Cai
In In Other Words, Arlina Cai’s paintings unearth meaning through embodied presence, giving form to the ineffable, where words fall short. A spiritually attuned artist, Arlina regularly incorporates meditation and somatic inquiry into her practice and earned her yoga teacher training certificate this past year, further nurturing and developing her interest in the mind-body connection. While developing this body of work, she engaged in study centered on connecting with consciousness itself and translating that felt wisdom into language. For Arlina, the most difficult aspect of this practice was finding the words. That tension, feeling something deeply without knowing how to articulate the experience, rests at the heart of Arlina’s work.
Her paintings explore how to communicate in a language without and beyond words, showing rather than telling. Though ephemeral, the works are not without grounding. Sweeping strokes of green and blue evoke valleys and waterways, suggesting places shaped by time and flow, where water moves effortlessly through the landscape. They feel like thresholds between spaces, both of this world and our inner minds. A deep blue courses through this body of work, while shapes that reference starbursts, mountains, and the flicker of eyes, drift in and out of focus, guiding the viewer through a space of discovery.
"A distant land, out of focus, soft and welcoming. I think this is where I try to go in my dreams." -Arlina Cai
"There is a C.S. Lewis quote about grief that I've been thinking about lately, "Her absence is like the sky, spread over everything." The sky in its darkest shade is a vessel for the stars. What are you a vessel for?" -Arlina Cai
"Painting is a bridge between worlds -- one we can see, and one we can only feel." -Arlina Cai
"This work arises from a season of grounding, of learning to return from the mind into the body. It sits at the threshold between nothingness and form, where sensation speaks more clearly than language." -Arlina Cai
"The mind is full of stories. The body holds what is true. What happens when you listen there instead?" -Arlina Cai
