Cristina de Miguel

New Paintings

January 25 through February 24, 2018

Opening Reception: Thursday, January 25, 6 – 8pm

Fredericks & Freiser is pleased to present an exhibition of new paintings by Cristina de Miguel. The Spanish-born artist makes energetic figurative paintings built upon a network of neo-expressionistic affinities, graffiti-inflected spray paint, and absurd narratives.

De Miguel’s paintings also display a willingness to reconcile opposite concepts.  Her figures are by turns, dignified and debased, often distorted for the sake of both composition and emotional resonance. She saturates her canvases with a buoyant sense of color yet there is a dissonance that is strangely perverse and dark.  She is a storyteller who seems to be without an interest in anecdote or explanation.  While her private iconography suggests mythology or allegory, she is deeply interested in the ambiguity created by not having a fixed center of meaning.  

De Miguel’s paintings are highly intuitive. The paint application is visceral and emboldened.  Beyond technique there are echoes of art history; whether it is the neo-expressionist gesture of a few decades ago or a more distant echo of Spanish iconography such as horses and musicians. Yet de Miguel is a deceptive painter. She is not without subtlety and misdirection. What at first appears to be familiar becomes surprising. 

Upcoming Exhibitions:

Gary Panter: March 8 through April 14

Zak Smith: April 26 through June 2