Frankie Miller and Cynthia van Frank Recent Work

Frankie Miller and Cynthia van Frank Recent Work

Vernissage: Thursday, November 27 at 6 pm
Exhibition: November 28 to December 20, 2003

Exhibition Press Release:

The McClure is pleased to present a duo exhibition of recent work by Montreal painters Frankie Miller and Cynthia van Frank. Working in still life and portraiture, the artists examine acts from the everyday, nourishment and the body in repose, that occur both intimately and socially.
Frankie Miller’s bold, contemporary still lives of food create a parallel between culinary and painterly sensuality. Various stages of meals, from fruit to soup, are situated in semi-abstract colour fields suggesting tabletops. The non-narrative context and the rough, painterly application of materials creates a heightened perception of the physical properties of familiar subject matter.

Working in oil pastel on paper, Cynthia van Frank renders her subjects with compassion, often placing them in poses of abandonment or nurturing, with particular attention given to the vulnerability of human flesh. In several of the paintings, a woman with closed eyes lies on root covered forest ground, integrated into her environment; nonetheless, a feeling of isolation lingers.

Frankie Miller and Cynthia van Frank received Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees from Concordia University (in 1982 and 1984 respectively). Miller previously studied at the San Francisco Art Institute in California. Following her undergraduate degree, van Frank also studied in the USA at the New York Studio School in 1985. Miller and van Frank’s paintings may be seen in several private and public collections including the Musée du Québec Collection prêt d’oeuvres d’art.