TEMPTER PIECES
ARTIST STATEMENT:
The body of work entitled Super-Natural stems from an intense foray into drought tolerant gardening. Over the course of several years I designed and installed a number of elaborate residential succulent gardens in response to California’s ongoing drought. The colors and sculptural forms of these plants are gorgeous and bombastic, and inspired me to incorporate botanical imagery into works that celebrate the material and metaphorical qualities of oil paint, as well as point to our tenuous relationship with nature. The paintings utilize highly saturated/altered colors and elements that are both simplified and exaggerated.
The works I call Weirdos are playful extrapolations of plant forms that are set in alien-seeming paint-landscapes. These continue my investigations into the language of painting in which I utilize a range of paint qualities and application techniques within a single painting. They also play with the supposition of object and space, simultaneously suggesting and undermining a landscape plane.
As we navigate these unusual and sometimes challenging times, my gut impulse is to push against the forces that would divide us, and insist on beauty—a sexy, high-chroma, delicious and possibly indulgent one—that my voice might join with others in asserting that nature reclaims, and that beauty should trump all.
BIO:
The daughter of a French professor, Cherie Benner Davis pursued a portion of her arts education while living in Paris, France and Florence, Italy. In 1997 she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Painting and Drawing from California State University, Long Beach.
Recent solo exhibitions include Trichromic, at Edward Cella Art & Architecture (West Hollywood, CA); Super-Natural at Carl Solway Gallery (Cincinnati, OH); and L.A. Pastoral at LAUNCH LA, (Los Angeles, CA). Cherie’s work also has been exhibited at Charlie James Gallery; RDFA; SolwayJones; SEER Gallery; PØST; 515; Jancar Gallery; Acuña Hansen Gallery; Ruth Bachofner Gallery; DiRT; Patricia Correia Gallery; Frumkin/Duval Gallery; Andrew Shire Gallery; Miller Durazo Fine Art; Rubygreen; High Energy Constructs; Irvine Fine Art Center; Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery; the Torrance Art Museum; the Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum, CSULB; the W. Keith & Janet Kellogg Gallery, CSPU Pomona; Frank Doyle Arts Pavilion, OCC; CSUF Art Gallery; UCI; Pierce College Art Gallery; San Diego Art Institute; Leo Castelli Gallery, Brenau University; and Scope Art Fair in Miami, FL.
Ms. Benner Davis works as a college-level arts instructor, and has curated and directed numerous exhibitions, served as visiting artist, guest lecturer, panelist and juror at various institutions. She lives and works in Los Angeles, California.
