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Photo By Martin Cox
Exhibition
Cynthia Minet - Open Studio
4 Mar 2018
Event times
March 4th 2-5pm
Studio of Cynthia Minet
Address
- 660 South Avenue 21
- #10
- Los Angeles
California - 90031
- United States
Artist Cynthia Minet mines human and animal migration near the U.S.-Mexico Border
About
Cynthia Minet - Open Studio
OPEN STUDIO at the Brewery/Cynthia Minet’s studio
March 4th 2-5pm
660 South Avenue 21 #10 LA CA 90031
Please join us for the preview of Migrations, Cynthia Minet’s upcoming solo show at IMAS, in McAllen, Texas
More info below
International Museum of Art and Science (IMAS)
1900 W Nolana Ave McAllen, Texas 78504
https://www.facebook.com/events/1770868872963905/
On view April 14th to September 2nd, 2018
Opening reception April 14th 3-5pm
Los Angeles artist Cynthia Minet is pleased to present Migrations, a one-person exhibition at The International Museum of Art and Science (IMAS) in McAllen, Texas, from April 14- September 2, 2018
Migrations takes borderland regions of the Rio Grande Valley as its point of departure and specifically uses the Roseate Spoonbill, a large bird native to the Southeast coastal region as an artistic surrogate for human experiences. Minet is well known for the creation of large-scale sculptures of animals constructed from repurposed plastics—detergent bottles, water containers, found toys, etc. that are then illuminated from within by glowing LED lights. She creates magnificent aesthetic objects that metaphorically call attention to our dependency on electricity and petrochemicals. Her conceptually and politically astute artworks draw the audience in, and then prompt them to thoughtfully consider and question contemporary society and lifestyle.
In Migrations, Minet will exhibit five suspended sculptures and one floor piece in addition to select wall-mounted drawings. Like most of her installations, this work is site-responsive, and uses recycled plastic debris from Los Angeles in addition to found materials gathered from the borderlands region of the Rio Grande Valley. The center piece of the installation is a graceful representation of the Roseate Spoonbill in various stages of flight. These sculptural birds are accompanied by light sequencing and motion activated sound that consists of wing beats, running water, bird calls and footsteps through grass that create a sense of mystery and movement in the darkened space. In addition, embedded into these sculptures are artifacts dropped by migrants who have crossed the border fence or the Rio Grande River into Texas. Minet's visually accessible, meaningful and richly layered works call attention to the fact that plastic will erode but never disappear, that habitats and species will be lost to climate change and pollution and never return, and that people will risk everything to escape intolerable situations only to be denied entry into a new land.
Cynthia Minet's artworks have been exhibited both in the USA and internationally. Her recent solo exhibitions include: Avian, Vita Art Center at the Bell Arts Factory, Ventura (2016); Beast of Burden, USC Fisher Museum of Art, University of Southern California (2015); Packing Caravan, the Los Angeles International Airport, (2013), Unsustainable Creatures, UC Riverside's Culver Center for the Arts (2012), as well as installations at the Anchorage Museum, AK (2014), the Huntington Beach Art Center, the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History, and at GATE Projects, Glendale. International group exhibitions include museum and gallery shows since 2000. Minet is professor of studio art at Moorpark College, Moorpark, CA.
