CINDY RUSKIN

ARTIST BIO

Originally from South Africa, Cindy has a BA in art history from Harvard and has studied painting in San Francisco and New York City. Cindy devoted more than two decades to creative projects with low-income children in New York City, including the creation of a large mosaic for the Lower Eastside Girls Club. In early 2020, Cindy moved to Connecticut to become a fulltime artist. Cindy's paintings have been published in All SHE Makes magazine, The Purposeful Mayonnaise Journal, Photo Trouvée, and GoddessArts magazines. Interviews with Cindy are featured in the online publications Art Feeds Souls, Clover & Bee magazine, and Strictly Magazine. In recent years, she exhibited her work online at the PxP Contemporary Gallery, the TMP Gallery, the Camelback Gallery, and the Arts to Hearts Project. Previously, Cindy's exhibits included a solo show in New York City, sponsored by ChaShaMa and a one-week-long guest show at the Matthew Marks Gallery, benefiting the Duk Lost Boys Clinic the Sudan.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I paint magical fairytale worlds, imaginary landscapes, and uplifting stories to celebrate the sacredness of life, and to explore the joy and mysteries of a vibrant inner life. For me, making art is an opportunity to open my mind to "big thoughts" -- about infinity, creativity, the human spirit, love, nature, and beauty. I’m inspired by all forms of storytelling from mythology, fairy tales, poetry, song lyrics, literature, theatre, memories, and dreams. I have a personal interest in stories about people finding their inner strength to survive -- and thrive -- through endless adversity. In my work, I continue to explore the balance between humor and seriousness as ways to cope, as well as the relationships between fragility and strength, vulnerability and resilience, femininity and female power, and optimism and fear. I use vivid colors, a decorative whimsical style infused with a sense of humor, and figurative and symbolic imagery to create art that is both visually appealing and meaningful. When I paint, I lose myself in color and brushstrokes, and find myself in a fantasy world – an imagined world full of hope, humor, beauty, possibility, and peace.


www.cindyruskin.com
IG: @cindyruskin_fineart