Tearoom | Wave Hill House
March 07–August 27, 2017
https://www.wavehill.org/arts/exhibits/cheryl-molnar-unnatural-landscapes/
Brooklyn-based artist Cheryl Molnar’s collage paintings are representations of fantastical, natural spaces in relationship to urban architectural forms. Molnar’s process involves lathering wood panels in oil, then etching and collaging them with manipulated and superimposed images. The technique involves layering painted paper and photographs of natural landscapes and jutting urban monumental fixtures. The scenery is cut-up and altered using long slivers of mixed papers that reference humanity’s inflicted alterations of nature. In a mosaic-like configuration they reveal vibrantly chopped asymmetrical forms simulating a surreal, transcendental world. There is a sense of depth, multi-dimensionality and rigidity in the composition that highlights the human/non-human divisions in nature. Superimposed skyscrapers and steel structures evoke hyperbolic fantasies of reimagined spaces, illuminating the charm of a utopic, idealized, urban wilderness. A 2014 Winter Workspace artist, Molnar drew inspiration from the Hudson River, Wave Hill’s greenhouses, national parks, suburban settings and lush, green spaces throughout the United States. The Headquarters and Rollercoaster images are indicative of the ominous but seductive pull of the looming burden of urban development. Inspired by Wave Hill’s Conservatory, Green Houseoffers an optimistic possibility for greenhouse architecture. Weeping Willowreferences an overlook above Wave Hill’s Conifer Slope.
Molnar received a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from Pratt Institute. Her work has been exhibited nationally, including at Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY; The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ; The Islip Art Museum, Long Island, NY; and General Electric Headquarters, Fairfield, CT. Molnar recently participated in the Fire Island National Seashore Artist-in-Residence Program in Watch Hill, NY, and in residencies at Wave Hill, Smack Mellon and Weir Farm Art Center in Wilton, CT.
