statement

I am interested in using my work to explore contrast and contradiction.  My works are dualities of reality, which include, calm and anxious, loose and tight, control and lack of control, weakness and strength, etc.  I choose to work with a limited color palette which often consists of solely black and white to express contrast.  Because I want my viewers to share the space with my paintings, I paint on a large scale.  

In my current work my paintings are constructed of two layers, paper and acetate. These layers express contrast, let me experiment with my medium, and let me explore a conversation between contrasting painterly textures.  While painting I embrace the accidents that occur from the sudden change of surface from paper to plastic.

My paintings embody two realms of existence, the paint on paper addresses a representation of human form, and the paint on acetate is an abstract representation of my feelings and reactions to my subjects and experiences. The acetate forms a kind of barrier or shield that keeps the viewer at bay, it also protects the intimate space of the subject.  

Cindy Bernhard, Spring 2011

bio

born: 1989, Illinois

education

The American Academy of Art, BFA, 2011

selected awards/honors

Best of Show, Manifest Rites of Passage, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2011
Best of Show Presidents Award, American Academy of Art Fine Art Exhibition, Chicago, Illinois, 2011

selected publications

Splash 12: Celebrating Artistic Vision, North Light Books

selected group shows

Manifest Rites of Passage, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2011
The Figure: Gallery Artists Explore the Human Form, Jennifer Norback Fine Art, Chicago, Illinois, 2011
Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles' Illustration West 48, Los Angeles, California, 2010
Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles' Illustration West 47, Gallery Nucleus, Los Angeles, California