Two women artists, who are navigating the labyrinth of social programming, have come together for a duo show at Dacia Gallery in NYC. Brigid McGivern and Cabell Molina. Brigid was raised in a traditional Midwestern home where everyone in her family married, had children, and stayed geographically close to their upbringing. As a child, Brigid felt a deep sense that this life, as happy as it looked, couldn’t provide the landscape for her to explore a more complex side of herself.  After studying the pivotal role that body language plays in relationships, Brigid began to use this language in her work. Through it, she seeks to enhance non-traditional perceptions of sexuality and gender. She believes that, as we normalize fluidity, we cast aside stumbling blocks for members of the next generation as they explore their own sexual identities. This work uses layers of paint, fast brush strokes, and drawing marks to represent the chaos of fear and shame and, ultimately, the tranquility attained when coming out on the other side. After Trump was elected president, and Cabell witnessed the current administration threaten many of the accomplishments of the women’s rights movement of the 1960s, a focus on women of that generation developed in Cabell’s work. Raised by a mother of the 1950’s, who attempted to cement her traditional ideology into Cabell at a young age, and freeing herself from a controlling relationship as an adult, Molina began to explore the female experience as portrayed by women of mid century Americana. Were the women of the 1950’s openly cognizant of their oppression?  Was femininity created by men and adopted by women to imitate male societal needs and expectations? Molina’s work studies a burgeoning rebellion beneath the demure smiles and obedient, yet sexualized presentations of domesticated American women. Her technique is to “deconstruct and reconstruct.” The process begins with collecting clippings of vintage magazines and books, ribbon, old photographs, coins, handmade papers, wallpaper, beads and buttons. She hand paints background elements with acrylics, spray paint, and oil pastels and adds gold and silver leaf. With those elements complete, Molina assembles these layers onto canvases or wood panels, finishing with several coats of varish.

Brigid McGivern is a New York City based artist committed to exploring the inherent properties, color, and luminosity of form in works that move seamlessly between approaches. From naturalist abstraction and neo-expressionist narrative, this artist has created an oeuvre that is compelling in its diversity. McGivern’s primary focus is a unique approach to painting, utilizing signature mixed media methods. With an extensive array of styles and techniques within her art, her aesthetic is vast but always grounded in mood, response, and the physicality of her materials. McGivern uses body language to hone in on pivotal moments of both connection and detachment. Hard shapes combined with drawing-like brush strokes within the paintings represent the contrasts that are in all of us.  As a trained graphic designer and mixed media artist, McGivern says she “finds it crucial that perceived unlikely unions make stunning results”. This is ever present in this series as the paintings go back and forth from abstraction to figurative. Inspiration from images begins each piece and the final work is the imagination of the artist as she changes, adds, subtracts, and manipulates the canvas and materials. McGivern studied Studio Art at Xavier University and Visual Communication at the School of the Art Institute. Her work has been exhibited across the country including NYC, Boston, Miami, and Chicago, and internationally in Bologna, Italy.

Cabell Molina is an American contemporary artist transplanted from California to the east. Her work explores and deconstructs the patriarchal ideas tied into mid-20th century fashion and advertising imagery. After breaking free from a controlling relationship a few years ago, Cabell began to focus her work on female freedom and empowerment. She attempts to present an optimistic vision of rebellion and social progress, highlighting the accomplishments of the feminist movement. Her technique is a mixed media style that combines hand painting with collage elements such as torn pages from books and magazines, re-appropriated images, photography, Ephemera, oil pastels, fabric, gold leaf, vintage papers, paint and she finishes each piece with several layers of UV varnish. Formerly an advertising art director, Cabell worked for multinational advertising agencies in cities all over the world. She studied graphic design, art direction and fine art at San Diego State University and Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. She uses her background in advertising, photo manipulation and design to create her large scale powerful, relevant art pieces. Cabell’s work has been in shows and private collections around the world. She creates commissioned conceptual portraits for clients as well.

Bound by Brigid McGivern, Acrylic on Canvas, 36x48