"Grand Canyon"
24" x 36"
Oil & Paper on Wood Panel
2009
Artist Statement:
Cheryl Molnar
New York
Growing up in suburban Long Island, I watched generic looking neighborhoods instantly grow out of leveled soil, in rows each identical to the next. Clusters of industrial parks and cul-de-sacs spread as far as one’s eye can see. The 1950’s idea that the only good architecture is modern architecture and everything old must make way for the new is a concept that most Long Island suburban neighborhoods were built on. During the race to design new and contemporary structures, architects conceived some “far out” plans for the direction architecture would take, such as Disneyland’s Monsanto House of the future built in 1957. The house was almost entirely synthetic and showcased the most sophisticated technology of the time. Structures such as the Monsanto House of the future as well as the Air Stream mobile home – along with more typical pre-fabricated structures like the suburban ranch home are the subjects in most of my collages. The irony is that these cutting edge structures are now becoming out dated and old themselves.
In my work, the actual material of the collage speaks to the subject of modern architecture. Collage allows me to construct layered landscapes that explore pattern produced by reductive, linear buildings. Transparency is used to describe structure, defining planes of space. Natural wood panel is an important contrast to the geometry created by the paper constructions and the stained straight edge lines cut into it illustrating the fact that theses buildings are products of man’s footprint on nature.
Artist Statement:
Cheryl Molnar
New York
Growing up in suburban Long Island, I watched generic looking neighborhoods instantly grow out of leveled soil, in rows each identical to the next. Clusters of industrial parks and cul-de-sacs spread as far as one’s eye can see. The 1950’s idea that the only good architecture is modern architecture and everything old must make way for the new is a concept that most Long Island suburban neighborhoods were built on. During the race to design new and contemporary structures, architects conceived some “far out” plans for the direction architecture would take, such as Disneyland’s Monsanto House of the future built in 1957. The house was almost entirely synthetic and showcased the most sophisticated technology of the time. Structures such as the Monsanto House of the future as well as the Air Stream mobile home – along with more typical pre-fabricated structures like the suburban ranch home are the subjects in most of my collages. The irony is that these cutting edge structures are now becoming out dated and old themselves.
In my work, the actual material of the collage speaks to the subject of modern architecture. Collage allows me to construct layered landscapes that explore pattern produced by reductive, linear buildings. Transparency is used to describe structure, defining planes of space. Natural wood panel is an important contrast to the geometry created by the paper constructions and the stained straight edge lines cut into it illustrating the fact that theses buildings are products of man’s footprint on nature.
"Oasis" (upper left)
8" x 12"
Oil & Paper on Wood Panel
2009
"Industrial Park" (bottom left)
14" x 10"
Oil & Paper on Wood Panel
2009
"Main Attraction and Concession" (right side)
12" x 12"
Oil & Paper on Wood Panel
2009
Stop by Bherd Studios Gallery this month!
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