Caitlin Cherry: Dirtypower

Dirtypower by Caitlin Cherry at PC–G’s Reilly Gallery

Caitlin Cherry draws as much from the traditions of art history as from the trailblazing cultural theory authored in this technology-saturated age. A solo exhibition of newly commission artworks at PC–G’s Reilly Gallery in the Smith Center for the Arts, Dirtypower merges two of the artist’s recent interests: imagery warped by Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) monitor technology, and the representation of black female bodies in institutions and media. The portrait paintings on view are rendered in kaleidoscopic color palettes, and some are displayed custom-designed wall-mounts and school desks, to look like malfunctioning flat-screen televisions. To reposition the outmoded idea of painting as a window to literal and figurative worlds, each artwork instead proposes painting as a screen—an addictively interactive and luminous surface that is central to everyday life while also mediating it. The painted figures, which Cherry uses to challenge presumptions about perception, authenticity, and beauty, visually communicate how entangled the individual, and her image-avatar, is with society and technology.

Cherry also depicts her subjects without erasing stereotypes that cut across race, gender, economic standing, and cultural power dynamics. Combined with serious attitude and humor, however, the depicted women ooze a knowing awareness, rejection of objectification, and unapologetic possession of individual and collective power. The result is a mesmerizing tribute to an array of confident characters who tell their own stories as well as those of their artist-author. Her artwork as the primary method, Cherry dismisses notions that it is an artist’s obligation to combat stereotypes. She instead pursues the eradication of gender and a feminist repurposing of narrative, media, and technology for radically progressive political ends.

Dirtypower is organized by Jamilee Lacy, PC–G Director and Curator. The exhibition, conjunctive programming, and fully-illustrated publication (forthcoming late February 2019) is generously co-sponsored by Providence College’s Black Studies Program, Center @ Moore Hall, Department of Art & Art History, and Women’s Studies Program. Additional funding is provided by The Reilly Art Fund, a gift of the late Robert F. Reilly (PC ‘42).

Caitlin Cherry, PC–G Inaugural Visual Artist & Scholar In Residence
Beginning with the 2018-2019 academic year and exhibition, PC–G established the PC–G Inaugural Visual Artist & Scholar Residency in cooperation with the College’s Department of Art & Art History and multiple other departments. The program is part of PC–G’s effort to enhance student and faculty experiences in the world of creative arts and to increase opportunities for interaction between the campus, greater Providence community, and cutting-edge contemporary artists and scholars from around the world. One of three inaugural residents, Cherry will be in residence at the College during the run of her solo exhibition for one month: January 15–February 15, 2019.

As part of the residency, Cherry will carry out multiple activities on campus, including the production of new work in a studio adjacent to Providence College Studio Art majors, open studio events, talks, workshops and more. Students and faculty alike may schedule visits to this with Cherry, and all campus and Providence community members may have the opportunity to host her in their classrooms, meetings, or at other venues. Please email pcgalleries [​at​] providence.edu for more information.

The PC–G Inaugural Visual Artist & Scholar Residency is part of an effort to enhance student and faculty experiences in the world of creative arts and to increase opportunities for interaction between the campus, greater Providence community and contemporary artists from around the world who are authoring timely and cutting-edge artistic scholarship. The Residency for Visual Artists & Scholars is made possible by a gift from Providence College Alumnus Robert F. Reilly and through the co-sponsorship of multiple Providence College department’s and offices, including Black Studies, Department of Art & Art History, Department of Theatre, Dance & Film, Center @ Moore Hall and Women’s Studies. 

About Caitlin Cherry
Caitlin Cherry lives and works in Brooklyn. Her work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Anderson Gallery at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, University Museum of Contemporary Art at University of Massachusetts in Amherst and The Brooklyn Art Museum. In 2019, she will present a solo show at Luce Gallery in Turin, Italy. She has also recently exhibited work as part of significant New York group exhibitions, including A Wild Ass Beyond: ApocalypseRN at Performance Space, Punch curated by Nina Chanel Abney at Jeffrey Deitch, Touchstone at American Medium and The Sun is Gone but We Have the Light at Gawin Brown Enterprise. Cherry is a recipient of a Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Fellowship Residency and Leonore Annenberg Fellowship, among other awards and honors. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is currently Visiting Assistant Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.

About PC–G
Providence College Galleries (PC–G) present exhibitions and public programs focusing on contemporary art, innovative artistic practice and interdisciplinary cultural activity. Operating online, within two gallery spaces, and across Providence College’s campus, PC–G supports the educational, service and community-oriented mission of the College with dynamic visual arts productions, including those that foster audience participation, cross-departmental collaboration at the College, and cultural exchange at local, national and international levels. PC–G ultimately strives to produce projects by artists and intellectuals who demonstrate how and why creative practitioners are vital forces in promoting diversity and shaping contemporary global culture.