CRISTINA DE MIGUEL Extraños en la noche intercambiando miradas 

@ ARTS+LEISURE

Dec 16th, 2014– Jan 18th, 2015  
Extended through Feb 8th, 2015

Opening Reception Tuesday, Dec 16th, 7-10pm.

Cristina de Miguel makes disarmingly witty and endearing gifs* and sketches in a new series on view at Arts+Leisure project space in East Harlem.  On the heels of very well-received solo exhibition at Freight+Volume in Chelsea last summer, this new series picks up where her personal narrative left off:  a young Spanish artist experiencing the joys, terrors and nuances of NYC from a fresh and tender perspective.  Her gifs portray modest human movements – undressing, kissing, jumping, falling, dancing, etc – with a unique blend of awkward stop-animation and graceful precision.  Her line oscillates between classical and neo-expressionist – nods to Schnabel, Clemente and Baechler are all present, as well as her fellow countryman Miguel de Barcelo – but the underlying sly humor and rebelliousness against tradition are clearly her own.

She writes: Working on this series of gifs I have been thinking about the relationship between classical drawing, historically understood as a preliminary sketch, and what has became drawing in the XXI Century. In the age of the internet, all the information goes so fast that there’s no time to digest it; we are overwhelmed with visual information. There's basically no time for making anything preliminary so the first drawing in itself works as the actual finished one. Therefore, freshness in drawing nowadays is greatly appreciated, maybe because it reflects the frenetic times of information overload we are in….So, how could I create new meanings and worlds by merging traditional and virtual drawing?

De Miguel has intertwined her framed drawings and gifs in a relaxed presentation at A+L which allows the viewer to jump back and forth between still and motion in an organic, free-associative way.  One realizes after seeing the drawings and gifs side by side how much motion there already is inherent in her work on both canvas and paper, with or without the aid of digital enhancement.  The figures appear to be at rest, at first glance, and the surprise is in the unexpected.  But above all, these gifs are funny – they never take themselves too seriously, which distinguishes them immediately from much of the pomp and posturing of art being made today.

Cristina de Miguel (B. Seville, Spain 1987) is a Brooklyn-based painter represented by Freight+Volume Gallery. De Miguel creates large, playful, and often provocative paintings that reference the imagery of contemporary everyday life. She received a MFA from Pratt Institute and a BFA from the University of Seville. De Miguel was awarded a Skowhegan residence in the summer of 2013. Her work has been reviewed in ARTINFO, NY Arts Magazine, El Correo de Andalucia, and others. Recent solo exhibitions include Absolutely Yours at Freight + Volume Gallery, and Nike Head at Cuchifritos Gallery.  

Please join us for a reception with the artist on Tues, Dec 16th from 7-10pm.  Refreshments will be served.  The exhibition will be accompanied by a full-color artist “flip book” for sale, signed or unsigned.  For more information please contact Nick Lawrence at nick@artsandleisure.net or 917-880-7299.

* Definition of “gif”: noun. A lossless format for image files that supports both animated and static images.