Cynthia Kresse
View the Arkansas Democrat Gazette 's latest article on Cynthia's work at https://www.arkansasonline.com/news.
I am fascinated by the barely seen, the almost there. What is hidden in the shadows and exposed by the light. My belief is that the ordinary can be transcendent, when light and shadows work their effect. Figures, interiors, and landscapes can become vehicles for subtlety and mystery.
Southern roots contribute a sense of quietness. I try for simplicity, looking for the essence of a moment. Rural life has especially influenced my work. Here, far from the glare of city lights, dusk and dawn will linger. This allows me to see the contrast of natural versus artificial light, and the emotional qualities of light. Country darkness filters a slow creation of silhouettes and muted colors. I am fascinated by the soft, illegible images produced. My goal is to create such moments of intrigue.
Technically, I work on a thin print paper, and I rub layer after layer of color onto it with my fingers and hands. No brushes or tools are used, and no pre-drawing is underneath, so there is a freedom as I work directly on the paper with my fingertips, and an image emerges. The effect is what I prefer, soft and ill-defined. It represents what I find compelling, that which is slightly unclear and not completely accessible.
Artist Bio
Cynthia Kresse received the Artist 360 Practicing Artist Grant in 2024, for her Works in Progress, “Chicken Houses of Northwest Arkansas”. The grant was awarded from the Mid-America Art Alliance and the Walton Foundation. That series will be exhibited at the Boswell Mourot Gallery from August 16 to September 6, along with other large pastels.
Chicken houses are a quintessential northwest Arkansas feature that mark hard-working farms. During the day, industrial chicken houses are gray, long metal buildings that stretch out across the farmland. Nightly, when lit, they are angular slashes of light in the countryside. The linear chicken house glowing a against a pastoral landscape, challenges a viewer's pre-conceived notion of what a farm looks like. Kresse uses color and contrast to starkly emphasize that visual surreality.
Cynthia Kresse, a pastel artist from Eureka Springs, Arkansas, is known for large scale, hand-rubbed pastels described as mysterious and atmospheric. Kresse's subject matter celebrates where she lives and the people around her, as in the series”Views From the Car” “Portraits in the Arts” and “Chicken Houses of Northwest Arkansas”. Cynthia Kresse received her Masters of Arts in Medical Illustration from the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas. Kresse's art has been selected for inclusions in the Delta Exhibit, Arkansas's Forty Women Over Forty” and the National Museum of Women in the Arts”.
Inquiries
For pricing and availability, contact Boswell Mourot Fine Art at boswellmourotfineart@gmail.com or by phone 501.454.6969.