letter from new york : : meaghan kent

 

maureen cavanaugh: girl on girl

Just checking... 'Tights' 2003

Williamsburg, Brooklyn is now said to have the largest concentration of artists in the world. This old world borough of New York City shares the East River with the neighboring metropolis. For artists and enthusiasts alike, more galleries are opening everyday in Brooklyn and are now practically matching Manhattan real estate prices. Lining the East River waterfront are dozens of galleries that hark back to an era of working class corner bar comfort. And while many Williamsburg gallery spaces cost as much as those in Manhattan, this new art center does have community.

The neighborhood has a familiar air that is reminiscent of the East Village ten years ago. It is filled with young boutiques, Thai restaurants, and the always-reliable Brooklyn Brewery. Galleries like Parker's Box, Priska Jushka, Pierogi, 31Grand, and Jessica Murray Projects have created individual niches in the neighborhood, many of which represent the talents of these local young artists.

I met with Maureen Cavanaugh, one of the up and coming artists showing at the Williamsburg gallery 31Grand. The brick and glass gallery, situated a block from the East River, and just below the Williamsburg Bridge, is run by Megan Bush and Heather Stephens. It is Maureen's second time exhibiting work at 31Grand (her work first appeared in the group show, Dealer's Choice). Maureen's second show, Heavenly Creatures features two other female artists, Patryce Bak and Carol "Riot"" Kane.

Cavanaugh's paintings are fearlessly feminine. She focuses on a female figure and creates a bold narrative from painting to painting. Her work is filled with fantasy and yet is immediate. It maintains a fresh outlook that is filled with youthful wonder. Her "girls" are characters developing before our eyes. Tights, 2003 is particularly expressive of this notion: a young girl peaks into her undergarments in a moment of self-discovery. The canvas is somewhat unfinished with white wash comprising most of the background. Almost emblematic of the girl herself, who is also in a process of development.

'Dating' 2005

In more recent works where the background is completely painted in, the sense of a flat two-dimensional surface is still very apparent. Dating, 2005, shows a nude figure spread out on the surface of the canvas, the diagonal plane of her bed pushing the figure towards the viewer. The girl lies somewhat awkwardly as if she were about to slide off the bed, one outstretched arm holding on. Cavanaugh has explained that the work portrays the end of a relationship, although given the title and imagery, meaning remains elusive. A man standing outside has not left, but instead stares dreamily through the window, while the woman reclines, her head turned and eyes closed, unaware of the man.

MK: With so many artists in Williamsburg, do you feel any competition among other painters? How has the social environment affected your career as an artist?

MC: I don't feel in direct competition with anyone. I live in New York, and I am an artist working here, which perhaps makes me competitive. I came to New York not knowing anyone, so socializing has been really important to my career. It can be difficult and sometimes makes me feel desperate but mostly after spending so much time alone working, it is just good to be around other people doing the same thing.

MK: How would you describe the Williamsburg art scene?

MC: It is an accessible art community that is a good place to start showing and getting to know people. I used to live across the street from Bellwether Gallery before they moved to Chelsea, and 31Grand is just down the same street. So you are always involved in the community even when you are grocery shopping.

MK: You were initially inspired by Chuck Close in college. How do you think his work has affected you stylistically today?

MC: I still prefer working within a square format but as one whole picture. Today I don't refer back to Chuck Close's work too often, but his work was a great starting point for me in learning about contemporary painting, composition and color.

MK: Alex Katz describes your work as "girlie hip, a kind of expressionistic Japanese painting." Do you agree? Do you see your work relating to Japanese painting?

MC: A lot of contemporary Japanese painting has influenced me and Alex Katz picked up on that right away. Growing up I liked the Sanrio characters (Hello Kitty) and I just discovered a Japanese dollar store in Manhattan that I love. Every ordinary object is made to look like fun. So Japanese imagery has been a definite influence.

MK: In several of your paintings I have seen the female figure visually change from a young girl to a sexy, mature woman. Do you sense an evolution in this character?

MC: Yes, these are a form of self portraiture. So they age, mature and regress as I do.

MK: What inspires you to paint?

MC: Originally, it was the only thing I was good at in school. I got a good reaction from it, and I liked that. I have always needed to make things. Painting is what I find to be the most challenging, and it keeps me interested.

MK: The abstracted backgrounds seem to re-locate the figure into an unrealistic setting. Do you see these images as a type of narrative fantasy? For instance, "Sky" seems more dream-like, while "Dating" has more of a real world setting, yet both works carry a strong imaginative narrative.

MC: The background is usually secondary to the figure. It is more like finding what works as a stage rather than a story I have in mind. In "Sky" I had this pose in mind but I didn't know where they would be until I got the figures in. In "Dating," I painted the pose of the reclining women and then I added the window, and then added the man. So a story evolved. I don't have an idea about what the two characters' relationship is or why he is there. It just worked for the painting. He needed to be there.

MK: What do you think makes your work unique from other paintings?

MC: I am painting in a painterly style with a very romanticized female view. There are no masculine elements of painting translated into feminine. It's girl on girl. In a lot of recognized painting today there is something aggressive about it. My aggression is being aggressively feminine.

Maureen Cavanaugh has work in Interested Painting at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Recent exhibitions include Heavenly Creatures at 31Grand, New York; Rock at Mark Moore Gallery, Santa Monica, California; and Contemporary Painting, curated by Alex Katz, at the Colby College Museum of Art, Maine. Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Cavanaugh moved to Williamsburg in 2001 after finishing a BFA in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

www.maureencavanaugh.com
www.31grand.com/artists/cavanaugh.html

Meaghan Kent is an Assistant Director at I-20 Gallery, New York City, New York. Her email is kent@i-20.com

 

affiliates