First, the elevator pitch:
I’m Christine Cianci, a figurative sculptor and oil painter. I use clay that fires to black and applied pigments, or plaster for my mostly wall hung bas relief work; and a layered oil technique in my oil on wood panel paintings. I use human and natural forms to tell visual stories about concepts that inspire me, including literature, myth and dark whimsy as well as the more relevant issues of feminism, inequality, climate change, and sociopolitical struggle.
The somewhat longer version:
I choose to focus on the human figure because of the figure’s ability to evoke feelings in the viewer, just as we relate to the emotional signals of other humans. My work is influenced by my love of history, literature, music, dreams and myth but also explores political and feminist themes as well as philosophical concepts. I frequently conceptualize work as one would a arrange a stage tableau, capturing a moment in time, perhaps influenced by my work in the theatre. Much of my work is infused with my sense of humor, which can be…a bit dark at times.
Oil on panel is my favored 2D medium, I find the organic and traditional method of layers of pigment suspended in thickened medium resonates with me more than any other method of painting because of the luminosity it conveys. I have been heavily influenced by the later renaissance masters of chiaroscuro who perfected this technique, and so my work tends to have dark backgrounds to contrast with the glow of the figures. Some paintings include low relief sculpture and gold leafing techniques as well.
My wall-hung and freestanding 3D pieces in ceramic or plaster are figurative and narrative as well. Instead of traditional glazes on the ceramic, I prefer the earthiness of the black clay I use to take priority, tinting with oil colors and gilding after firing. For the plaster, I use a renaissance technique that imitates marble called scagliola, add paint, sometimes gilding, finally wax/buffing the final piece.
There is a lot of symbolism in my work, used as a kind of visual abbreviation of language in the narrative. Many pieces begin as a particular concept, be it some facet of feminist issues, climate change, religious oppression etc., then noodling out how best to tell a story to explore that concept or emotional experience in a visual way. I will sometimes use the visual language of classical myths or modern iconography as metaphors to enhance the narrative. My hope is that my work speaks to the viewer, and that it might not merely reveal my own intended meaning, but initiate an imagined story or feelings independently within each person who views it, creating a myriad of possible stories for each work.
