CRISTINA DE MIGUEL – ABSOLUTELY YOURS
2014-06-24This show features the current series of De Miguel’s idiosyncratic paintings – at once sophisticated and disarmingly childlike, both formal and relaxed, and always steeped in humor and gesture. The title Absolutely Yours has the feeling of a heartfelt salutation as well as a sincere goodbye. The paintings are captured moments, ideas, and emotions, which can be seen in a similar light to a warm embrace and, at the same time, a tearful farewell. This non-linear (and sometimes ridiculous) quality of narrative in her work lends itself to an open-ended viewing. There is no absolute, no one particular way to view her paintings: they need to be explored and experienced. Each painting asks us (the viewer): discover me, engage with me, experience me, and feel me. The audience is invited to fill in the blanks. De Miguel’s imagery derives from her unique life, and through paint she presents painting as a celebration, and a viable lifestyle.
Her source material is defiantly autobiographical. Her painting Candy Saga feels like it was made on a subway platform in Chinatown. The black paint seems to be the same black paint used to paint the MTA’s large garbage receptacles (the ones that always seem to have a wet-paint sign attached). De Miguel captures this grittiness, this grim reality in a witty, mischievous, and untroubled way. The text in this painting states “Candy Saga In The Subway,” and there appears to have been a candy explosion. A little kid has thrown his skittles into the subway car, or college kids are stuffing their faces with jellybeans on the way home from a rave. Cristina distills this epic into something we can consume and be nourished from. She reminds us that our day-to-day commutes are filled with bizarre, amusing, and poignant moments.
Opposite – Lovestory, 2014
Exhibition runs through to July 12th, 2014
FREIGHT + VOLUME
530 W. 24th Street
New York
NY 10011
