New Work

Artist Bio As It Relates To This Series:

In 1998 I was a professional artist preparing for a museum exhibition. One dark night, I was in a head-on collision at 60 mph, trapped in a burning car. My body was burning and I was conscious the whole time. I was on fire, terrified, and watching myself in a horrific scene as I fought hard to stay alive. A total stranger stepped out from a line of witnesses there, walked into the violent inferno and saved my life. He kicked in the window glass, pulled me out, and patted out the flames on me with his bare hands. 50% of my body was affected after the skin grafts were completed. I nearly lost my right arm as the tissue burned down to the bone at one place on my shoulder. The pain was beyond any words I can begin to express; and there was not even a two minute escape from that pain for many months. Next I faced my disfigurement and the uncomfortable reactions from people who became provoked by it. I was decimated physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Just three years later I was rear-ended by a car going 60 mph resulting in a closed-head brain injury. I had been a professional artist my whole life and no longer knew how to paint. I could not drive or read, among other basic activities. The level of betrayal I felt from life seemed insurmountable... And then I became determined to create an amazing life. It was a steep long climb and as a result, I learned very clearly how to navigate my way to true healing and to a life beyond anything I could have dreamed possible; this life not only includes physical, emotional and spiritual healing but also lifetime achievements professionally - being placed in the permanent collection of a museum. I’ve come to a place where my heart pounds with excitement instead of fear. I learned how to transform my pain and how to take control of my life.

If this was the last work of art I could ever create I would be satisfied. This series represents the ultimate symbol for what is possible for each of us in life; that we can take something tragic and turn it into something elegant, empowering, beautiful.

Allison Massari

Custom Commissions Available: 415.209.3616

Massari’s New Sculpture Series: A female torso with hot rod flames; the ultimate symbol for a burn survivor transforming something tragic into something elegant, beautiful, empowering.

Allison Massari

“Transformed” Series #1

Sculpture 2010

Fiberglass & Autobody Paint

Detail Shots:

Allison Massari