Monica Zeringue show!

Monica Zeringue  "Hydra" 2013

I first posted about Monica Zeringue in 2006, so it's wonderful to get notice of her NYC show opening in a couple weeks.  "Goddesses and Monsters" pushes many of my happy buttons: it's mythic and feminine and psychological and strange.  Can't wait to see these autobiographical graphite wonders in person at Jonathan Ferrara Gallery - show is up from April 1-23rd:

Jonathan Ferrara Gallery is pleased to announce Goddesses and Monsters, artist Monica Zeringue's debut solo exhibition at the gallery. The exhibition will run through April 1- 23rd, with an opening reception on Saturday, April 6 from 6-9 pm, in conjunction with the annual Jammin' on Julia event.

 

Zeringue is well known for her fluid graphite drawings, typically drafted on heavily primed linen, which occasionally incorporate embroidery and other mixed media embellishments. Each drawing incorporates the artist's image in some configuration, luring the viewer into the artist's interior landscape.  This latest series delves into more primordial territory- rife with ancient mythological references, these drawings explore female archetypes with a raw and savage clarity.

 

In my new drawings, I am using imagery from ancient mythology, primarily Greek and Roman tales. While some of the characters and props seem familiar, I am not loyal to the stories.  They are purposely mixed up and cross-referenced in ways that generates entirely new meanings.  The traditional associations of much of the symbolism are discarded as I weave a new hybridized mythology with myself as the center.

I continue to use the self-portrait, but the little girls of my past work are now fully matured women.  As goddesses, monsters and mortals, they continue in the same struggle for power and identity.  In these new works, I take on many forms.  I am a beast, a savior, a nurturer, frightened, and then frightening. I cast myself as both Hercules and the monsters he must overcome.  Artemis, Ophelia, Leda, Daphne, yet I am always myself. Transition and flux remain a preoccupation in my work.  By using familiar symbols and imagery in a new, disrupted context, I imbue the ordinary with new possibilities. 

 

Monica Zeringue received her Masters of Fine Arts from the University of New Orleans in 2006, and her BA in 1993. In 1999 she was awarded the Prix de l'Acadamie de Paris, Societe Internationale des Beaux-Arts. She had exhibited her work at the Meadows Museum of Art, Contemporary Arts Center, and the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art with a solo exhibition, as well as numerous gallery solo exhibitions in New Orleans since 1999. Her drawings and paintings have been exhibited in group exhibitions throughout the United States. Zeringue's work in included in the public collections, including the New Orleans Museum of Art, The Diane and Sandy Besser collection, Frederick R Weisman Art Foundation Collection, Los Angeles, CA, the Alexandria Museum of Art, Alexandria, LA, and the Arts Council of New Orleans. Zeringue lives and works in New Orleans.