FABRICATIONS and DREAMS 
Cynthia Guild

Hampden Gallery
Main Gallery Exhibition: February 14 - May 3, 2024
Reception: Friday, April 5, 2024,  5-7 p.m.
Artist Talk: Friday, April 5, 2024, 6-6:30 p.m.

FABRICATIONS and DREAMS: This exhibition is made up of two series of oil paintings and drawings: Industrial mechanical imagery representing logic, is compared with dreamy, snowy alpine scenes of nature, representing escape and reverie.

 

Exhibition Statement:

 
The exhibition FABRICATIONS and DREAMS juxtaposes two series of oil paintings and drawings. In one body of work, I present industrial mechanical imagery representing logic, and in the second body of work I depict dreamy, snowy alpine scenes of nature, representing escape and reverie.

At the onset of the pandemic, we all felt a sense of fear – some felt a fear of State surveillance as was happening in China. The first Towers I depicted, like Sentinel #1, felt very appropriate to express this emotion. The “Structures” became a write-in for mental and mechanical effort -- the conveyor belt of the human brain at work.

At the other end of the spectrum are the alpine images – soft , white, ethereal at times, far away and dreamy. I found myself retreating to these web cameras often so I could spy on beautiful nature.

On a personal level, these two bodies of work represent two sides of my creativity:  the driven aspects of thought and constructive action, and the elusive mysterious side - born of rest and reverie. I present them here together to see the results of their interactions.

 

Bio:

Cynthia Guild received an MFA from the University of Massachusetts in printmaking in 1989, focusing on lithography and monotype. Now primarily an oil painter, she has carried over her printmaker’s interest in process and gesture. Guild has exhibited widely in the US and Cuba and was recently featured in an exhibition at the New Bedford Art Museum. An avid sailor, Guild currently teaches at Eastern Connecticut State University and lives and works in Stonington CT.