In the Project Space: Mira Cantor: Under Siege

In the Kingston Project Space, ​Mira Cantor​’​s ​exhibition Under Siege ​presents new drawings developed out of her reconsideration of Adam and Eve’s expulsion from Eden. She says of the work, “After leaving a studio that I had for 25 years and downsizing, moving and going through work I barely remember, I produced a series of new drawings that address humanity in 2019! Under Siege.” The frenetic energy in the figures is quite engaging. She works from a small stuffed sewn doll that she rearranges in different positions to indicate emotions and relationships between two people. While the works are primarily pencil drawings, she also applies watercolor to small areas of the works.

The colors applied are sparsely done and they seem to indicate a connection between figures or highlight a space shared. When asked about what she is highlighting in the intersection of the figures and how the process of applying the watercolors charge or change the work, Cantor states, “The meaning is often ambiguous, but I use the watercolor to enhance ideas. The ambiguity is important to engage the viewer, for them to bring their own understanding to the images.”

This body of work resonates in these trying times and reflects humanity’s search for meaning. With the daily deluge of anxiety producing news and the pressing fears of climate change, Cantor asks through the Eden expulsion myth and these works questions about the trials and tribulations we face. Her work deals with the difficulties of the struggles, but ultimately she suggests through this body of work that we (in concert with the drawn characters of Adam and Eve), “somehow manage to move on, out of the canvas, into the ambiguous state of the unknown, given hope to dispel the grief.”

Erica Licea-Kane: Half Spaces is on view in the Kingston Main Gallery, Susan Alport: Close Relations is on view in the Center Gallery and Mira Cantor: Under Siege is on view in the Kingston Project Space March 4 through March 29, 2020. An opening reception will be held on Friday, March 6, 5-8pm.