PHOTO COURTESY OF ERB PHOTOGRAPHY
Cynthia Woehrle grew up in New England. She studied Fine Art at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA and Arts Administration at UMass Amherst’s Art Extension program. During her time at Montserrat she studied traditional painting techniques under artist George Gabin, he became a mentor in the development of her aesthetic. Cynthia Woehrle paints landscapes full of atmosphere and mood. Her subtle sensibilities are developed through the close relationship she has with each of her paintings. Her work has been described as visceral, emotional, soft, nuanced and dissipating. These qualities continually touch the heart of her collectors.
Her studio is now located in Rhode Island.
She has been exhibiting in New England since 1993.
Select venues include the Fruitlands Museum, Old Sculpin Gallery, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Assumption College, Boston State House, Academic Artist Association, ArtsWorcester, and Zullo Gallery.
ARTIST STATEMENT
The landscapes executed from 2012 to today depict places that represent an emotion painted on carved shapes like windows looking out at another reality. My aim is to present a scene that has a ground yet gives an ephemeral and floating feeling that evokes a dreamlike memory. I am fixated on the subtleties in the atmosphere which I layer in glazes of paint. Each work develops its own temperament; some complicated and heavy, others light, loose and confident.
The idea of contradictions is also explored through out the works. I associate lights and darks in atmosphere with both positive and negative implications. The meanings wrap around the feeling being expressed. For example scenes of night and sunset are about both light and dark. For example, with darkness there is acknowledgement of the negative with an appreciation for its own beauty and solace. In contrast, the light represents the focal point with a dark cloud hovering heavily over it. Darkness symbolizes repression and withholding but at the same time, and more importantly, darkness brings comfort and rest. The light disrupts this rest but is also a symbol of hope and renewal. In depicting the sky, I can explore a full circle of human emotion through light and atmosphere where each value can be a contradictory symbol.
The moon is a new subject for me. The inspiration came from a time that forced reflection about the meaning of life and death. Ever changing, the moon’s presence is mysterious and is often contradictory in symbolism. This makes the search for absolute truths impossible. There is always another answer, another perspective. Philosophers grasp at answers in an effort to understand life but all that is true is the journey and what is discovered along the way. I invite the viewer to look out these windows and navigate through their meanings.
Recent Exhibitions
2015 New Members Exhibition, Old Sculpin Gallery
2014 Lunar Light and Landscape, Old Sculpin Gallery
2013-2012
Cloud Cover, The Foster Gallery
Visceral Murmurs, Fruitlands Museum
T-Minus Worcester to the Moon, The Aurora Gallery
2011 12×12, Provincetown Art Association and Museum
Guided by Gabin, Brickbottom Gallery
ArtsWorcester Biennial, Honorable Mention, Painting, Patricia Hickson Juror
Womens Authors Event and exhibition, UMass Medical School Library
2010 ArtsWorcester Members Exhibitions
Worcester Art Museum Faculty Exhibition
Drawn to Life – Concept and Craft in Contemporary Art, Tom Grady, Curator
traveling exhibition featured at ArtsWorcester and Assumption College
Things We Project, Sprinkler Factory
Arts in the Afternoon, Boys and Girls Club Fundraising Exhibition
Full resume available upon request