MIXED METAPHORS | DEBORAH UNGER & CYNTHIA CARINO

Mixed Metaphors | DEBORAH UNGER & CYNTHIA CARINO

August 5 – September 3, 2022 | ANNEX

RECEPTION August 6, FROM 5:30 P.M. – 7 P.M.

The earliest visual art made by humans is usually about telling a story. 

In the exhibition, Mixed Metaphors, we hope that you will create your own stories in response to the bewitching work of emerging artist, Cynthia Carino and the mystical sculptures of Deborah Unger. 

Cynthia’s vibrant, wild and exciting compositions contrast starkly with the deep, mythical and intensely personal experience of Deborah’s quiet sculptures.

What is the story? What is the next chapter? It is yours to create.

Deborah Unger Artist Statement

With a BFA in printmaking, I had always considered myself a two dimensional artist. I never felt particularly drawn to classical or even modern sculpture. However, I did have a passion for medieval sculpture. I find Romanesque, Gothic and Early Renaissance art, and particularly sculpture, very compelling. I love the arcane symbolism, the hierarchy of scale and the richness of detail and color. This, I believe is what led me to working three dimensionally. One day I found a carving block in an art supply store and took it home. I was trying so hard to coax a figure out of it that I didn’t leave enough material for clothing. So I decided to sew my figure a dress and have been working that way ever since. I carve my figures from basswood using both hand and power tools. They are dressed in garments for which I make the patterns and sew. The figures are carved in components in order to accommodate the clothing. They are then dressed and arms or legs attached and the clothing sewn closed. My figures often exist in environments which give context to the piece. Houses and forests are reoccurring elements in which the figures are often set. I use metaphor to describe personal and relational conflicts, making them reminiscent of what one might experience in a dream. These sculptures can be interpreted as ironic, metaphoric or amusing.

CYNTHIA CARINO ARTIST STATEMENT

There is something to be said about how figures can come together or stand alone and create an impact on the viewer. The mood and feeling behind these set of paintings are Alice and wonderland meets Studio 54 ( famous NY club from the 80s).Vibrant colors and mirrored imaging is something I tend to do a lot in my work. Hope you enjoy

These paintings reflect the feeling of solitude that I felt while being surrounded by existence, the feeling of being held while yearning to be held  — extremes that altered my perception of my life and created anxieties that almost tore down my strength and fortitude. 

But once I put those feelings into perspective on canvas,  I felt a surge of relief. And as I painted my perception of reality, I hoped that each stroke would touch someone else’s heart as it was touching mine.

Like pieces of a puzzle each layer was a script of my own polarity and sameness!

Through my art I found peace and solace and a determination to be a better person, a kinder person, to myself and others.