- “Cindy Sherman” by Coni Minneci
Artwalk Reception: Friday, June 8th, 2012, 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Coni Minneci’s recent series “A to Z Women Artists”, compelling in both its artistry and concept, fit squarely in a movement in recent decades to research and represent the contributions of women artists – a class of artists who have been largely under -recognized and under-documented.
The premise of this series is deceptively simple – 26 women artists, (26) 9 x 12 oil paintings – each containing a pear. The intimate scale of each work references the roots of still life genre paintings and the shape of a pear is frequently associated with a specific female body type. This is where the simplicity ends as Minneci mines the research she has compiled and constructs highly imaginative solutions for each painting that are richly laden with metaphor and meaning and occasional hints of humor and irony.
Minneci’s project is very relevant and worthwhile. It provides viewers with an opportunity to discover several relatively obscure artists – women who remained unknown because they were women – and serves as a reminder of women artist such as Judy Chicago, Susan Rothengerg, Cindy Sherman and others who played critical roles in shaping the art history of the Western worlds.
Submitted by: Donna Slade, New Bern Artworks & Company, 343 Pollock St., New Bern, 252-634-9002