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TALL TALES
Caitlin Carcerano Opening reception: Friday July 12, 6-10pm Closing reception: Friday August 2, 6-10pm "My paintings and risograph prints, while not necessarily self-portraits, are semi-autobiographic visual examinations of and reflections on my experiences. My current body of work explores memory, reflection, self-forgiveness, and self-compassion. The figures in my work, representing my past and present self, touch and interact, melting in and out of each other. The figures can be amorphous, and it can be hard to discern where one figure starts and the other ends. Sometimes, the figures are akin to children hiding in a blanket fort, telling stories about the past and sharing their hopes for the future. I utilize repeating figures to represent memory, the different versions of oneself, and the potential for growth and change. |
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Each of my pieces exist as moments in time that are part of a larger narrative, like panels in a comic. I seek to imbue still images with a sense of action, as if they are moments in an overarching story. The softness of the human body is critical to my work. In addition to making art, I am also a competitive powerlifter. The veneration of my body in the gym and the representation of the body in my work is not dissimilar. In my risographs, the repeating arch- shape echoes stained glass church windows, furthering the veneration and respect I aim to pay the body in my work.
The title of this show, Tall Tales, is in reference to how this body of work is a way of mythologizing myself. Tall tales are often told in a way that makes the narrator seem to have been a part of the story, which is aligned with the way I center myself and my experiences in my work. In some paintings, the female figure looms large in the landscape, subverting the trope of giant men in folklore traversing the land. In other paintings, cosmic elements like eclipses, stars, and umbras take the stage along with the figure.
My work also embraces the visual language and bright color palette of graphic novels and vintage commercial illustration. I have an inherent interest in bridging the gap between traditional painting techniques and the colors and styles seen in popular forms of visual media. Risograph printing, with its combined digital and analogue process and inherently retro spectrum of inks, has allowed me to further explore the visual language of print media."
The title of this show, Tall Tales, is in reference to how this body of work is a way of mythologizing myself. Tall tales are often told in a way that makes the narrator seem to have been a part of the story, which is aligned with the way I center myself and my experiences in my work. In some paintings, the female figure looms large in the landscape, subverting the trope of giant men in folklore traversing the land. In other paintings, cosmic elements like eclipses, stars, and umbras take the stage along with the figure.
My work also embraces the visual language and bright color palette of graphic novels and vintage commercial illustration. I have an inherent interest in bridging the gap between traditional painting techniques and the colors and styles seen in popular forms of visual media. Risograph printing, with its combined digital and analogue process and inherently retro spectrum of inks, has allowed me to further explore the visual language of print media."
Caitlin Carcerano is a figurative, illustrative oil painter and risograph printmaker. Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, she graduated from the University of New Mexico summa cum laude in 2017 with a BFA in Art Studio, Painting and Drawing. Caitlin continues to live and work in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she maintains a studio at the Harwood Art Center. Her work has been shown at 516 Arts, the Harwood Art Center, and AC2 Gallery in Albuquerque, Strata Gallery in Santa Fe, and published in Southwest Contemporary. www.caitlincarcerano.com
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