Cynthia MacCollum/Artist Statement
As a painter and printmaker, I find inspiration in fragments of nature held close for reflection. I employ a personal vocabulary of fluid marks and organic imagery to express the sensual pleasure and ephemeral quality of the natural world. Within this realm, my work varies from representational to abstract, and I am continuously moving along the continuum between the two. I tend to work in series, either in regard to the materials used in creating my collagraph plates and prints, or in the exploration of a particular image.
Recently I have reconnected to my love of painting and have been exploring ways to connect painting and printing processes. Moving from stencils of plants, to actual plants used as stencils, I am exploring the dialogue between Photography and Painting, despite the fact that I am not using a camera. Instead of painting the object, I am painting the image of the object; this is perhaps a reaction to the constant exposure to images that pervades everyday life. There is also a seasonal aspect to this process; I am using found plant material, and the availability changes with the seasons. The temporal quality of the material, alluding to the passage of time, and the ephemeral nature of the material itself, all speaks to a place in me that craves more connection to the natural world.
The technical term for the way these prints were created is “rinsed prints”. First developed by Picasso, the technique involves printing with oil based ink and then washing the print with water based ink; the oil based ink resists the water based ink. In my practice, I am using the water based ink to paint an image on the oil based ink.
Cynthia MacCollum
Solo and Group Exhibits
2017 Artists Showcase, Group Show, Avenue Gallery, Norwalk, CT; Invitational
2016 Flora & Fauna, Nest Arts Factory, Bridgeport, CT; Invitational
2016 Spring Fling, Group Show, Avenue Gallery, Norwalk, CT; Invitational
2015 ART On The Line, Invitational International Art Show and Exhibit, The Space, Hong Kong
2015 ART SHOW: BEDFORD, Benefit, Bedford, NY; Invitational
2015 Full Bloom: The Artist’s View of Gilded Age Botanicals; Lockwood Matthews Mansion Museum, Norwalk, CT
2014 New Members Exhibition, Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
2014 Continuum, Solo Show, H. Pelham Curtis Gallery, New Canaan, CT
2014 On and Off the Wall, First Street Gallery, New York, NY; Invitational
2014 Spring Fling, Group Show, The Avenue Gallery, Norwalk, CT; Invitational
2014 Works on Paper, The Road Gallery, New York, NY; Invitational
2012 Panorama, Members Show, Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT
2010 Members Show, Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
Juried Exhibitions
2018 Spectrum, Carraige Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
2016 New Work/New Directions, Juried Members Exhibit, Silvermine Galleries, New Canaan, CT
2015 Annual Mini Print International, Cadaques, Spain and Bages, France
2015 Spectrum, Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
2014 International Biennial Footprint Exhibit, Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT
2013 In the Layers, Juried Members Exhibit, Silvermine Guild Galleries, New Canaan, CT
2013 Ink and Clay 39, Kellogg Gallery, California Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA; juried show
2013 National Juried Exhibition, First Street Gallery, New York, NY, Donald Kuspit, Juror
2013 Spectrum, Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT.
*Awarded First Prize for Works on Paper
2013 Sea and Sky, Liz Afif Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2012 Spectrum, Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
2012 American Pastoral, Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
2010 Members Show, Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
Residencies
2017 and 2016 Skopelos Foundation for the Arts, Skopelos, Greece
Collections
The Fine Art Collection at Montefiore Einstein, Bronx, NY
Education
2005-2013 Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT
2010 Santa Reparata International School of Art, Intensive Printmaking Workshop,
Florence, Italy
1993 Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, NY
1987 Washington University in St Louis, BA, History of Art, St. Louis, MO