Now on display at loop Gallery is an exhibition by loop member Tanya Cunnington entitled The Awkward Phases of my Adolescence.
Tanya Cunnington's work is created from personal nostalgia. This particular body of work deals with the artist's childhood and adolescence. It was inspired by a group of old family photos given to Cunnington by her Nana, and by the photo albums that the artist compiled while in high school. Combining imagery and abstraction through paint and collage is a technique that Cunnington has returned to after a long foray into pure abstraction. Through collage she can attach personal items to her work, whether it is a quick meaningless note jotted down by a friend that was somehow kept, or an old bed sheet from her childhood. Not only does she enjoy the fragile and impermanent nature of these items, but she often purposely leaves text legible to act as a form of documentation, and as a tool to perpetuate the ongoing passage of time, and time past. Each painting is very much about the moment in which it was created, which in itself becomes very nostalgic for Cunnington. Ultimately the artist hopes to encourage a sense of longing within viewers as well.
Born in Kirkland Lake Ontario, Tanya Cunnington now lives and works in Toronto. In 2001, Tanya received her Associates Degree from the Ontario College of Art and Design, with a Major in Drawing and Painting, and was the recipient of the Eric Freifeld Award for Excellence in Figurative Art. She was also selected to take part in the Florence off-campus studies program in her third year. Tanya has since exhibited in several group Exhibitions, both in Toronto and in the surrounding areas. She just recently held her third Exhibition at Loop Gallery in Toronto where she is currently a member. Her work has been included in Magenta Foundation’s publication of Carte Blanche Volume II-Painting, and reviewed in Canadian Art Magazine.
For more information about the artist and her work, visit her website here.
