Cynthia Minet: Avian

Opening Reception: Friday, February 5, 2016 from 6-9 p.m.

Los Angeles-based artist Cynthia Minet makes sculptures and drawings that reveal her interest in scientific and ecological issues. Her illuminated, life-size, mixed media sculptures of domesticated animals are constructed from found and repurposed plastic materials. Each installation in her ongoing “Unsustainable Creatures” series addresses the artist’s reflection on the complicated relationships and interdependence humans have with the world we inhabit. The common plastic materials used in the sculptures speak to consumer culture and our reliance on petrochemicals, while their illumination emphasizes our utter dependence on electricity. The drawings that accompany the sculptures are often anatomical studies combined with text. They expose the preparations of the sculptures and offer a glimpse into the working process.

The solo exhibition, Avian, at the Vita Art Center, features works that primarily portray birds of prey. Minet’s research into contemporary falconry explored commercial bird eradication programs where hawks and falcons are flown through vineyards, airports and other locations several times a day, rendering them almost as domesticated as farm animals. Minet is interested in portraying domesticated animals because she sees them as surrogates for human experience. Building the birds out of recycled water and detergent bottles speaks to humans’ reliance on those materials. It also points to the seemingly insurmountable problems of plastic pollution in the food chain and in the water supply. A new series of drawings Minet made specifically for the exhibition will focus on aquatic birds, and how their environment is challenged by the prevalence of plastics.

Birds, whether tamed or not, always retain their wildness. The tension implied in the sharp beaks and claws of the sculptures, and in the loose drawing style of the flat works suggests other readings for the analogy of tamed vs wild in the birds of prey: the predator drone, the falcon and hawk as symbols of strength and renewal, and the role

Links to reviews:

Artillery Magazine

http://artillerymag.com/cynthia-minet/

Wired Magazine

http://www.wired.com/2014/02/trash-animals

Los Angeles Times

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jul/24/news/la-lh-cynthia-minet-animal-sculptures-at-lax-tom-bradley-international-20130724

BIO:

Cynthia Minet works with post-consumer plastics to build illuminated sculptures of animals. Her drawings and pieces have been shown individually and as large-scale installations. The works reveal her interest in ecological and scientific issues, and capture audiences through their visual allure and conceptual bite.

Minet’s work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions internationally and nationally including USC Fisher Museum of Art, Los Angeles; Anchorage Museum, Alaska; CDC Museum, Atlanta, Georgia; UC Riverside’s Culver Center for the Arts, California; Museum of Natural History, Los Angeles; Los Angeles International Airport; Huntington Beach Art Center, California; Muzeo, Anaheim; Limbus Gallery, Tel Aviv; The New Gallery, Teddy Stadium, Jerusalem; Scala Mata, Venice, Italy.

Minet’s work has been featured and reviewed on The Discovery Channel (Canada), Wired Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, KCET ArtBound, Artillery Magazine, FORM Magazine, theAnchorage Daily News, RAI Television, (Italy), The Huffington Post and on numerous websites.