Statement
My recent still lives are celebratory portraits of the remains of caretaking. These heirlooms used for function and decoration are experienced close to our bodies and thus form some of our most intimate memories of sanctuary. Stacked textiles and domestic comforts bloom with patterns and repetition ensuring us that their comfort is unyielding even when no longer needed. When juxtaposed with natural settings outside of their native interior habitats, these heirlooms transcend their functions to become identities in themselves, creating order and beauty in an unmanageable world.
The formal presentations of my subjects may lead to conflicting feelings of comfort and discomfort, shelter and confinement, and of love and loss. It may lead to questions about whether these material comforts keep us safe or more vulnerable. The intimate examination of my subjects with strong light sources also echo the attachment to the material despite the imminent passage of time.
Bio
Cindy Rizza is a classically trained, representational oil painter who received her BFA from the New Hampshire Institute of Art. Her iconic representations of familiar domestic subjects summon conflicting feelings of comfort and insecurity, shelter and confinement, and love and loss. She is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Vermont Studio Center Artist Grant, Second Prize at the 9th Annual Lore Degenstein National Figurative Drawing and Painting Competition at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA and the Best of Show Prize at the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art Annual Juried National Exhibition, in Wausau, WI. Her work is represented at George Billis Gallery in New York, NY and Galerie Mokum in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Cindy grew up in Massachusetts and Maine during her early years, and has remained in New England, now living and working in Southern New Hampshire.