ABOUT Cheryl Mannino

BIOGRAPHY

Cheryl Mannino is a contemporary visual artist who works predominantly with acrylics on mid to large scale canvas to create works that combine both landscape and portraiture and straddle the line between representation and abstraction. She is inspired by the natural world and our deep-rooted human connection to it. The rather magical connection between memory and place is an integral aspect of her work. Using herself, family members and friends she integrates fragments of remembered personal moments into the landscapes. Cheryl is a current student at Kutztown University graduating in 2021 with a B.F.A in Studio Arts with a painting concentration. Her works have been displayed in multiple galleries at Kutztown University, most recently at the Miller Gallery for the Art Department Senior Exhibition.

My Statement

I am a painter; therefore, I am a storyteller, communicating with the viewer by using the power of visual imagery to kindle imaginations, arouse emotions and capture moments. I work predominantly with acrylic paint on mid to large scale canvas to create works that combine both landscape and portraiture and straddle the line between representation and abstraction. I am inspired by the natural world and the fundamental psychological and emotional relationship we humans have to it. I am interested in the ability of the natural environment, from the tiniest insect to the largest mountain to spark the imagination and generate unexpected responses from within. The rather magical connection between memory and place is another integral aspect of my paintings. Memories and recollections of past events and the people who were part of them can become layered and tangled within certain physical locations. I use myself, family members and friends as subject matter and integrate fragments of remembered personal moments into the scenes. Bits and pieces of the lasting impressions that have affected my life woven into the landscape like metaphors of the mind as a landscape. I do this because to me, landscape is not simply a topographical location, it has a spirit, a reverence, and a consciousness to it. I fabricate compositions that function on multiple levels. Vistas that reflect both the natural world and my inner life, distillations of place, time, and memory. I am fascinated by the way naturalism and abstraction merge in the outside world. Lines dissolve and flow into others. This echoes the coming and going of reality and reflection. It harkens other states of perception and brings about a sense of yearning for distant memories or a sense of saudade. My intent is to recapture lighthearted moments in time and to invite the viewer into my world .