Today we’d like to introduce you to Cindy Phenix.
Hi Cindy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I have always been a creative type, but my interest for visual art enhanced itself during my undergraduate studies. Born in a small town, I initially moved to Montreal to accomplish a bachelor’s in art education and psychology. I was hoping to pursue graduate school in art therapy, but through my second year I met some mentors that would become important sources of support, and they encouraged me to investigate further my research in painting and drawing. Then for years, I explored with a lot of materials, collaborated with friends, participated in exhibitions and residencies until I left for Chicago to complete my graduate studies at Northwestern University in Art Theory and Practice. I had the opportunities to elaborate my artistic practice by having access to seminars in political science, gender studies and art history. One of my good friends from grad school and I were often talking about moving to Los Angeles and I believe the stars aligned. After months of hard work to open my first solo exhibition in Brussels, I had a summer to relax and was looking for a new studio and house. I stumbled upon an amazing studio opportunity in Los Angeles and thought it would be fun. I have been here for two years now and I love the city and its varied surroundings. It feels like home!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
From my personal experience as an artist, the road has not always been smooth, but that’s also what makes the field of art and culture exciting. Being passionate and ambitious toward a specific project will (probably :)) come with its share of challenges, but I believe that the struggles artists encounter create space for discussions and for the growth of a community, people learn from their experiences and share with others.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a painter and my visual language utilizes a reciprocity of abstraction and figuration to deforms the imagery into various degrees and to convey complex narratives. My tableaux begin as digital collages where I pull an imagery from various sources, photographs that I capture of my everyday life and historical art references. I then project the collage onto linen and traces the contours of these figures and shapes. I play with the process of the paintings and create a tension between the negative spaces of untouched surfaces of linen, pastel, oil and the thick heavy impasto. The canvases therefore crystalize the trajectory of a life in paint, from its potential to its expiration.
My visual vocabulary depicts an interplay between humans, non-humans and technology through the lens of theatre and the concept of the world as a grand stage. These scenes represent complex apocalyptic portrayals of our shared reality— evoking the many catastrophes that saturate our common lived experience and the harm caused by the Anthropocene. The paintings often represent scenes of malice and danger which dramatize a distortion of authority and ambition in a hostile world. Interactions between kings and queens, monsters and spirits, sportsmen and children are tinged with a mixture of horror and humor, reflecting the darker nature of power struggles that saturate even the most innocuous of games.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.phenixcindy.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phenixcindy/
