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About Cindy
“Cindy Phenix (b. 1989, Montreal) works across a multitude of mediums including painting, drawing, and sculpture utilizing a reciprocity of abstraction and figuration to convey complex narratives aimed to deconstruct the hierarchical power structures that govern society and social conduct. Navigating the tenuous relationship between the public and private, Phenix’s subject matter is regularly informed by participatory discussions through which the artist explores and brings awareness to shared experiences. Phenix’s works develop these discussions further by prompting viewers to freely associate meaning from fragmented figuration, intentional ambiguity, and untouched raw materials. Relationships between Phenix’s figures shift effortlessly from contentious to caring in accordance with varied personal perspectives. Monstrous characters, with mutable bodies undefined by gender, appear throughout Phenix’s compositions in defiance of socially constructed systems of power that have historically limited society. Appearing to piece themselves together from aggregated paint gestures, these monsters become figures of power and personal freedom through their abjection.
Cindy Phenix lives and works in Los Angeles. Phenix received an MFA in Art Theory and Practice at Northwestern University in Evanston in 2020 and a BFA with distinction from Concordia University in Montreal in 2016. Phenix’s works have been included in many exhibitions: Julius Caesar (Chicago), 6018|North (Chicago), Hyde Park Art Center (Chicago), Nino Mier Gallery (Los Angeles & Brussels), Contemporary Art Gallery (Vancouver), Galerie Hugues Charbonneau (Montreal), Stewart Hall Art Gallery (Montreal) and Maison de la Culture (Longueuil). Phenix’s works are part of private collections in the US and Canada including Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec, Caisse de dépôt et de placement du Québec and Hydro-Québec. In 2015, Cindy Phenix was listed as one of the top 15 emerging artists for RBC‘s prestigious Canadian Painting Competition. "
- Artist statement by Cindy Phenix
“My work is about individual and collective emotional lives. It is narrative, yet blends figuration and abstraction. It is process-based, colorful and textured. I am interested in how identity and marginality are experienced in society. I begin with complex photo-collages of people in environments. My work often flirts with abstraction, then, but the scenes I depict and emotions do come through, and that draws the viewers in. Both the characters I paint and their stage are deconstructed, transformed and recomposed; they are disproportionate, deformed, and vividly colored. Monstrosity, in a sense, is a central concept of my work. My practice is ultimately about the norms that constrain us and about how we, as individuals, still manage to express ourselves within it.” - Cindy Phenix
Education
2020 - Master of Fine Arts - Art Theory and Practice, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
2016 - Bachelor of Fine Arts with Distinction, Concordia University, Montreal
Grants & Awards
2018-2020 - Master's Research Scholarship, Quebec Society and Culture Research Funds (FQRSC), Quebec (QC), Canada
2018-2020 - Graduate School Fellowship, Northwestern University, Evanston (IL), USA
2018 - Travel Grant, The Graduate School, Northwestern University, Evanston (IL), USA
2017 - Research, Creation and Exploration Grant, Conseil des arts et lettres du Québec, Quebec (QC), Canada
2017 - Travel Grant, Conseil des arts et lettres du Québec, Quebec (QC), Canada
2017 - Pat and Connie Carlson Artist Award, The Banff Centre, Banff (AB), Canada
2016 - VSC Sustainable Arts Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, Vermont (VT), USA
2016 - Candidate BMO 1st Art!, BMO Financial Group's, Toronto (ON), Canada
2015 - RBC Canadian Painting Competition Finalist, Toronto (ON), Canada
2015 - Fine Art Students Alliance (FASA) Special Project Grant, Concordia University, Montreal (QC), Canada
2015 - Emerging Artist Award, Montréal en Arts, Montreal (QC), Canada
2013 - CLD Longueuil agglomeration Grant, Longueuil (QC), Canada
Collections
Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec
Caisse de dépôt et de placement du Québec
Hydro-Québec
Collection BLG
Claridge, Inc.
Power Corporation
Trixmedia, Inc.
Why we like it
Artist on NAAC’s radar since our inception
Extremely high level of collectorship
Works in strong private and institutional collections
This work will be one of the highlights of the upcoming edition of Art Brussels
Artist with a long wait list of collectors
What others are saying
Saelan Twerdy, "How to break a Painting", Canadian Art, September 2019
Eric Clément, " Le Phénomène Cindy Phenix", La Presse, Septembre 2018
What is included
The value of the artwork (£22,000 incl. VAT)
Collection, crating, shipping & import duties (£4,900 incl. VAT)
Condition report and photography (£350 incl. VAT)
10% Admin fee (£2,200 incl. VAT)
Insurance and storage (covered by NAAC)
