To Shed New Light

Cecília André compares roaming the aisles of the Material for the Arts’ warehouse to diving into the unconscious mind. Everything imaginable rests on shelves, almost animated, expecting to be selected, seen, given meaning again. These ordinary items have served ordinary functions in their first incarnation. Now, through creative reuse, they ask to become extraordinary.

Hunting and gathering, André allowed herself to get lost to find shapes, shades, and textures. Through a series of works that evoke ideas of renewal and revision, an immersive dreamscape came together—a trip down a lane of memories that stretches not only the scale of her work but also the contrasts between light and dark and all the colors in between.

Each assemblage beckons closer inspection to reveal tiny details, stories meshed together by delicate interventions. Their complete installation suggests a step back to take it all in. André's own paintings from various periods of her life rest partially concealed, like a fuzzy thought waiting to be uncovered, putting everything on an equal plane. In her world, everything is art if you just look at it a certain way.

Illuminating these pieces and compositions with colored shadows, André emphasizes the wonder of “transparent” light, the main focus of her work. It is with this immaterial material, light, that she further transforms each component to create a cohesive whole. And so, onto these dozens, perhaps hundreds, of individual elements of various origins, uses, and values, Cecília André literally and figuratively sheds new light.

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Text written for Cecília André's solo exhibition To Shed New Light at Material for the Arts, New York, January 19-March 10, 2023