Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY
Artist Statement
My practice explores the world in which I live and the world I want to exist.
I often begin with doodles, cut paper, photographs, collages, stray marks. By themselves, these items might be seen as cast-off scraps or the outcomes of perceived busy work. They are abstract explorations of material, texture, pattern, and color. Occasionally I scan my explorations and incorporate digital renderings. In these instances vector drawing and photo editing programs become mark making tools, essential to me as pencil or crayon. Through these repetitive gestures I clear my mind and sometimes build stories. In both physical and digital spaces building up and tearing down is essential to my process. I am invested in a continual dance of arrangement. I am an editor: I select, I pare, I sort. This balance is imprecise, imperfect, untethered. It relies upon negotiations between formal abstraction and occasional narrative content.
Whether exhibited as a collage, print, installation or performance my work is fueled by my uncertainty of how to exist in an unapologetically inequitable world. How do I organize myself in this landscape? How do others? I am intrigued by how people, whether they are small groups or society as a whole, create meaning through ritual and repetitive gestures. I am fascinated by the way social norms influence behavior and how authority impacts relationships. Increasingly, my practice- whether through studio work, collaboration, or organizing- is a way in which I cope with the inevitably unknown future.
Bio
Born and raised in Buffalo, NY, Madeleine Cutrona studied Anthropology and Studio Art at the University of Rochester and graduated with honors in 2008. She earned her MFA at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in 2012. Cutrona is a visual artist who is inspired by colors, patterns, textures she observes in the built and natural environments. She is currently a Senior Program Officer in Fiscal Sponsorship where she consults with artists about fundraising, grant proposals and project management. She believes creating art to share in the world is public good and honored to work with so many dedicated creators.