Reception Friday evening for Cunningham show at Giampietro Gallery

Giampietro Gallery—Works of Art
315 Peck St., New Haven, (203) 777-7760
Jan Cunningham: Recent Paintings and Photographs
Apr. 5—27, 2013.
Reception: Fri., Apr. 5, 5—8 p.m.
Artists' Talk: Sat., Apr. 13, 2 p.m.

Press release from Giampietro Gallery

Fred Giampietro Gallery is pleased to present new work by artist Jan Cunningham. This show will be on view from Apr. 5—27 with an opening reception Fri., Apr. 27, from 5—8 p.m. and an artist's talk on Sat., Apr. 13, at 2 p.m.

Jan Cunningham, in a recent statement, describes how her work in the studio moves through cycles of expansion and compression. At present, the paintings are in a period of compression. For the past year, Cunningham has come back to making very simple paintings—using as few elements as possible, and letting each element play its role fully. In the course of making the painting, Cunningham seeks to generate as much light and depth, using demarcations, densely layered color, and a few lines. The lines, or slots, depending on the painting, serve as a kind of aperture in the work—an opening that light passes through, and through which one can see the history of the making of the painting; they can be a way into the painting, or posts to mark the landscape. Cunningham thinks of these paintings as emptied-out—scraped clean of any non-essential distraction, ready to serve as a chamber in which the simple elements can resonate.

Jan Cunningham: "Fence XII"

In 2010, Cunningham integrated photography into her practice in a formal way. She feels that as a matter of interest, the practice of photography has entered into a dialogue with the work in the studio, to the benefit of both. Her eye has led her to the things that she captures with the camera, and those things in turn affect the work in painting in the studio. Bringing photography into her practice has liberated the paintings from having to be “everything”—and therefore freed them to be more.

Jan Cunningham received her Masters of Fine Arts degree from Yale University and her Bachelors of Fine Art from the Rhode Island School of Design. Cunningham’s work has been exhibited internationally and throughout the East Coast. Jan has been awarded many residency opportunities including the Yale University Art Gallery Lewitt/Doran Residency and Yaddo. She completed a fellowship in Photography through the Connecticut Artist Fellowship and was invited to the American Academy in Rome as a Visiting Artist.