Sandra Cinto: After the Rain: Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
Sandra Cinto's fifth solo exhibition at the gallery presents new works on canvas which evoke the sea, sky, rain, waves, and clouds to illustrate the cycles of human life and the indomitable hope for transcendence inherently interwoven in a transformational journey. Within a fantastical landscape that serves as a metaphor for the human odyssey, the São Paolo-based artist elevates our understanding of the human condition while pushing the limits and possibilities of drawing.
In one gallery, Cinto appropriates the architectural space to create an elegant mural of hallucinatory power. Forests of silver marks fastidiously assemble to form an abstract blanket of rain on all four walls. The precisely executed drawing, though dense, promotes the illusion of a weightless, whimsical universe. A deep blue background envelops the small gallery at a skewed angle, as layers of shimmering silver cause a psychedelic spatial disorientation and walls are swallowed up by merging and diverging clusters of fine lines. With subtle shifts in scale, the viewer senses a proportional distortion of size, which further promotes the feeling of a spiraling deluge.
In the adjacent gallery, Cinto's stylized linear world also appears on canvas, as skillful and ephemeral wisps of silver ink illustrate the deft and clever touch of the artist and patterns come to life in two-dimensional form. Clever, animated lines repeat in a haphazard fashion as Cinto takes drawing to its edge and into the abyss. The symbolism of the show's title "After the Rain," shines through in these works, as the story of human challenge and redemption is paralleled by a metaphor of buoyant seas and gusty winds. The images of rain culminate in a single dark blue canvas - an interesting and contrasting peaceful place. Anchored by this minimalist canvas, the sublime message of Cinto's show is apparent, encouraging reverie. The rain has now come full cycle, opening up a space for a new world and a fresh start.
All installation images above: Photo by Jean Vong
