Texas Border Business
The International Museum of Art and Science (IMAS) in McAllen, Texas is pleased to announce Migrations, a solo exhibit by Los Angeles artist Cynthia Minet, from April 14 to September 2, 2018.
Migrations take the borderland regions of the Rio Grande Valley as its point of departure and specifically uses the Roseate Spoonbill, a large bird native to the Southeast coastal region as an artistic surrogate for human experiences. Minet is well known for the creation of large-scale sculptures of animals constructed from repurposed plastics—detergent bottles, water containers, found toys, etc. that are then illuminated from within by glowing LED lights. She creates magnificent aesthetic objects that metaphorically call attention to our dependency on electricity and petrochemicals. Her conceptually and politically astute artworks draw the audience in, and then prompt them to thoughtfully consider and question contemporary society and lifestyle.
In Migrations, Minet will exhibit five suspended sculptures and one-floor piece in addition to select wall-mounted drawings. Like most of her installations, this work is site-responsive and uses recycled plastic debris from Los Angeles in addition to found materials gathered from the borderlands region of the Rio Grande Valley. The centerpiece of the installation is a graceful representation of the Roseate Spoonbill in various stages of flight.
These sculptural birds are accompanied by light sequencing and motion activated sound that consists of wing beats, running water, bird calls, and footsteps through grass that create a sense of mystery and movement in the darkened space. In addition, embedded into these sculptures are objects discarded by migrants in the areas along the river or by McAllen’s border fence.
Minet’s visually accessible, meaningful and richly layered works call attention to the fact that plastic will erode but never disappear, that habitats and species will be lost to climate change and pollution and never return and that people will risk everything to escape intolerable situations only to be denied entry into a new land.
Cynthia Minet’s artworks have been exhibited both in the USA and internationally. Her recent solo exhibitions include: Avian, Vita Art Center at the Bell Arts Factory, Ventura (2016); Beast of Burden, USC Fisher Museum of Art, University of Southern California (2015); Packing Caravan, the Los Angeles International Airport, (2013), Unsustainable Creatures, UC Riverside’s Culver Center for the Arts (2012), as well as installations at the Anchorage Museum, AK (2014), the Huntington Beach Art Center, and the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History. International group exhibitions include museum and gallery shows since 2000. Minet is a professor of studio art at Moorpark College, Moorpark, CA.
This exhibit is included in the cost of General Admission and is free for IMAS Members. Cynthia Minet will give a talk on her exhibit on Saturday, April 14 starting at 3:00 p.m. with a reception to follow until 5:00 p.m.
 in McAllen, Texas is pleased to announce Migrations, a solo exhibit by Los Angeles artist Cynthia Minet, from April 14 to September 2, 2018.){kind=link}