Title: Modern Icons
Artist: Dan Forlenza
Medium: Acrylic / Mixed Media on Canvas
Year: 2025
Size: 30” w. x 40” h. x 1.5"
Frame: none

This captivating painting presents a haunting juxtaposition of archaic form and contemporary subject matter. The composition is crowded with a group of stylized figures, their faces rendered in stark, mask-like planes of alabaster and cream, reminiscent of Byzantine icons or primitive portraiture. Clad in heavy robes of rich teal and midnight blue, the figures are united not by interaction with one another, but by their shared focus on the pale green rectangles they hold close to their chests. These objects—evocative of smartphones—cast a symbolic glow, serving as the focal point of the narrative. The bold, sketchy black outlines and textured background add a raw, expressive energy to the piece, inviting the viewer to reflect on the nature of intimacy and presence in an era of digital saturation.

There is a quiet intensity to this piece. The figures stand together, yet they are psychologically apart, entranced by the objects in their hands. The artist uses a cool, moody palette of blues and grays to evoke the 'blue light' that permeates modern evenings. The blankness of the screens and the stoic expressions of the figures suggest a universal experience—a moment of suspended time where the physical world fades into the digital.

Original Painting signed by the artist. 

Shipped via UPS Ground or FedEX 

Sale is Final - No Returns Accepted for Original Hand Created Artwork

This unique acrylic on canvas painting by Dan Forlenza is a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork.

Dan Forlenza creates using an assortment of physical media and digital tools.

• Active Artist Member at WAAM (Woodstock Artists Association & Museum), https://www.woodstockart.org/.  Since its founding in 1919, the Woodstock Artists Association & Museum has been committed to exhibiting, collecting and supporting artists and art education and in sustaining the tradition of Woodstock as a “Colony of the Arts.” WAAM is located in the center of the village of Woodstock, New York.
• Nationally published single panel comic artist with King Features Syndicate in weekly feature called "The New Breed" in the 1990s and more recently the co-creator of a sci-fi graphic novel series called "SUPERBUG".
• Creating NFT digital art since 2019 and ranked as one of the top NFT Artists with over 500 NFT artworks sold to over 230 NFT art collectors.
• Digital NFT Artwork is part of The Museum of Crypto Art (M○C△) permanent Genesis Collection.