Although she had participated in some group shows and done solo shows at small galleries after moving to Cleveland from Los Angeles in 2004, many of us first became aware of Arabella Proffer’s distinctive work in 2007, when Asterisk Gallery, a notably adventurous space in Tremont run by artist Dana Depew, showed her Private Empire: The National Portrait Gallery of Kessa. In it she filled the room with portraits of fictional nobility, combining historical clothing, hair, makeup and jewelry styles, with elements, such as piercings, tattoos and spiked hair, taken from contemporary alternative cultures such as punk and goth. The portraits came with extensive backstories about these unique characters. (She did a book on the show, which you can still buy.)
That was the beginning of a long love affair between the artist and area art lovers, one that will live on long after her death May 29, 2024 at age 45, following a 14-year battle with cancer. She leaves behind her devoted husband Ben Vendetta, with whom she also ran a record label for many years, called Elephant Stone: both were passionate music fans. She also leaves behind an army of friends and colleagues who respected her talent, work ethic, humor, warmth and generosity.
Arabella was diagnosed in 2010 after an odd change in her art: she turned away from portraits to brilliantly colored abstract forms, some resembling strange, aggressive plant life. She often talked about how, when she looked at the images of the cancer growing in her upper leg, they looked exactly like the forms she had been painting. She showed the work under the title Biomorphic Garden Party.
For ten years Arabella’s health was up and down, but she remained an active and productive artist, showing her work many local and national venues as well as in Germany. She published several books of her work, including a couple of comic books, and a book of photos of bathrooms in local public venues such as galleries and music clubs. She was staggeringly prolific throughout her career before and after her health challenges.
Then in the spring of 2020, she was told the cancer had spread throughout her body and she probably wouldn’t live to see the fall. She and Ben travelled extensively, going to the places she’d always dreamed of going to. She continued to paint and exhibit and moved into the world of non-fungible tokens. Her work was archived at the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve and on May 16, a show of her work, titled Flaunt, opened in its gallery. Arabella was there. Two weeks later, she was gone.
You can explore her work at her website to see what an amazing legacy she’s left behind for us.