Cheryl Molnar
Better Homes and Gardens

Exhibition Dates:
September 29 - November 4, 2012

Artist's Reception:
Saturday, September 29, 5-8pm 

The fictional landscapes depicted in my paintings are inspired by places I’ve been, which have been re-imagined as constructed, utopian environments. Through this, I aim to explore the ironic nature of modern development.  So often, land is raised to make way for prefabricated housing developments, strip malls and industrial parks, which effectively alter the natural beauty that initially attracted developers to these sites.

Man’s work in altering nature can also been seen through the manipulation of vegetation. Topiaries, as well as other plants and shrubs, have been reshaped and trained to grow in unnatural forms for centuries. Greenhouses promote the growth of foreign species of plants in what would otherwise be inhospitable climates.

These paintings are created though collaging strips of oil-stained paper onto natural birch panels.  Tracts of ranch houses and other modern, architectural structures are carved directly into the wood and then stained with oil. This process creates permanent incisions into the panel itself.  The juxtaposition of these two opposing forms and processes symbolize my exploration of the American Dream as it has evolved from my parents’ generation through mine.

Cheryl Molnar is an artist based in Brooklyn, New York, where she has lived and worked for the past twelve years. Molnar received a BFA with a major in graphic design from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2000 and received an MFA in painting from Pratt Institute in 2005.   Primarily working in collage, Molnar's work also incorporates installations, photography and digital media.

Molnar’s work has been exhibited in galleries across the U.S. including McCaig Wells Gallery in New York and White Walls in San Francisco. Her work is part of the Microsoft Collection and the Cantor Fitzgerald Collection, and has been exhibited at the Islip Art Museum.  Molnar recently completed a residency at Smack Mellon in Brooklyn, NY and has previously held residencies at Weir Farm Art Center in Wilton, CT and at Cooper Union in New York City. Along with her collage paintings included in this show, Molnar's installation art can currently be viewed at The Joseph Gross Gallery at The University of Arizona School of Art.