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ANNE CHERUBIM

Design / Digital, Painting, Sculpture / Installation, Visual / Media

Much of my work, rooted in real-life images & textures, with a modern abstraction, often in limited colour palette, is about evoking a sense of place. With metallic paint, I use the idea of layers & memory & how an image shifts, depending on lighting.

About the Artist

Anne Cherubim is an abstract contemporary landscape painter. She works predominantly in acrylic. Her art is rooted in real life images and textures, with a modern abstraction, often in a limited colour palette. Anne’s other body of work is The Recycled Art Project, a series of limited edition digital paintings. Her art is a reflection of contemporary art as portrayed by someone who is a product of a myriad of cultures: a Canadian girl, born of Sri Lankan parents, now residing in the US. This unique 'lense' through which she sees the world informs her work, undeniably. ‘Tolerance’ is the word we use to talk about being open to, and welcoming of, one another. Anne believes ‘embrace’ is a much better word for talking about cultures, and the ways in which we can coexist. Art and music transcend language - among other barriers- and create commonalities, harmony. They are universals that can be appreciated no matter where you come from, or what language you speak. This is the type of experience Cherubim hopes that her art allows for. Anne has enjoyed exhibiting her work locally and internationally. Her art has been displayed on billboards in Times Square, has been in print, has been written about in blogs, was exhibited in a castle in Italy, has been enlarged to 8 feet tall on display at BWI Airport, and been reviewed in the Washington Post. Alongside exhibiting her own work, Anne has served as juror for numerous art exhibits, and has been a teaching artist for over a decade. Her award-winning work can be found in collections in the US, Canada, & Europe. She currently resides with her husband and children in Maryland, and is a founding member, and the current Chair, of the Gaithersburg Artist Collective. Her work can be seen at: www.annecherubim.com as well as  www.cherubim-arts.com

ANNE CHERUBIM website View Website ANNE CHERUBIM website View Website

Artist's Statement

I am an abstract contemporary landscape painter working in acrylic. My art is rooted in real-life images and textures, with a modern abstraction, often in a limited colour palette. Much of my recent work is about evoking a sense of place, rather than creating a photo-realistic representation. So while the paintings no longer always look like landscapes, they still feel like landscapes to me. I am also working with the idea of layers, and memory: how one memory leads to another "layer" of memory, as well as how an image shifts depending on how the light hits it, particularly when metallic paint is used. Though there is a vast difference in the types of work I have created over the course of my life, the underlying thread in much of it is the environment, and stewardship of the planet. I paint abstracted scenes of real-life beauty. Without some amount of social responsibility, these types of scenes will only exist in imagination, no longer a reality. I think that art is a “way in”. It is an equalizer, no matter where you come from, what language you speak. Now, more than ever, we must take a step back, and recognize our inter-connection to everything.

Featured Work

Photos

This painting deals with the idea of layers of memory, one memory leading to another. Some memories are distinct, some are fuzzy. It is also about relative darkness and light, and that moment of illumination, or a spark. Metallic silver paint causes the image to appear differently depending on how the light hits it, or the angle from which it is viewed, making for a dynamic painting. Painting is gallery wrapped. As such, there is no need for framing unless you so desire. The colours of the painting continue over the edges of the canvas on all four sides.
This is a piece about layers of memory, how one memory leads to another. Sometimes memories are serendipitous "finds", like hidden treasure, that we are happy to unearth. I have a favourite section of this painting. Ask me about it sometime. Painting continues around the edges of the canvas. As such, there is no need for framing unless you so desire. I tend to paint on canvas that is 7/8" deep. This is one of the few pieces done on a deeper canvas.
This piece is part of the Ethereal Series, a series largely rooted in a sense of place, and emotion--concerned with depth, and dimension. While painted onto a 2-dimensional plane, the layers lend to a feeling of depth, beyond the surface. Like most of my other work, these paintings continue over the edges of the canvas, free from the confines of a frame. These pieces can be seen as calm, and quiet, allowing the viewers’ eyes to rest, and be drawn in, while at the same time, energy emanates from the smallest to the largest of these pieces. They are still, and moving, all at once—a contradiction.
This piece is done in shades of purple and metallic gold paint. It deals with the idea of layers and memory, how the brain fires -- one memory leading to another. Some memories are hazier, some very crisp. Because of the use of metallic paint, the image appears differently, depending on how the light hits it, or where you are standing.
My main body of work is comprised of abstract contemporary landscapes, done in acrylic. In 2009, I started a little side project, The Recycled Art Project, a series of limited edition digital paintings. This project started with an interest in some of my older work from 20+ years ago. Back then I was just creating, unaware of the need for archival materials. Some of the paper from these works has completely yellowed, or is no longer presentable. I wanted to find a way to still give this work some exposure. As a result, I came up with The Recycled Art Project. I took these older pieces and 'recycled' them into something completely different. In some instances, if you look at the original and recycled pieces side by side, you can see colour-based commonalities. Standing alone, however, they are two completely different items. I have taken images of the original, pre-recycled pieces, and then altered them, poking, prodding, pushing, pulling. Like my landscape paintings, they are often inspired by little cross-sections of colour on a larger plane. Sometimes I have gone back to the same little section multiple times and reworked it in varying ways. The beauty of working with digital imagery: the possibilities for outcome are infinite. Many of these digital paintings are made up of small squares, or rectangles. Much like in pointillism, the eyes take these small fragments and want to make sense of it. In some instances, the image appears abstract, based entirely on movement, energy, and colour. Other times, the resulting image is an abstracted yet recognizable landscape, sunset or lake.