Cynthia Stasio
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Artist Statement
I am working to change the way the female nude has historically been perceived in painting and drawing. My work incorporates the figures in a feminist manor, merging the concept of what a woman is expected to be and what a woman is; multidimensional and complex. I take agency in the intensive process of deconstructing the images and building them back up through mixed media.
Throughout the history of art making, the female nude can be seen being painted, sculpted, and drawn by male artists. In these works, the nude is often hyper sexualized by the men that use them as content which is revealing to how women have been viewed in the past. How the body is represented in art has changed over time as artistic expression evolves.
Previously, women in art have been more passive and were seen as objects of desire. This work references women empowering themselves, taking back ownership of their bodies and embracing their sexuality. My pieces pull from the historical context of the nude and merge with contemporary attitudes and material explorations.
Using the female body as reference, I create digital line drawings that establish the composition. This allows me to push the ways I can manipulate the human form by breaking them down into line. I then translate the digital pieces onto canvas, panel or paper using charcoal. The majority of my pieces contain charcoal and oil paint; the history of these mediums goes back just as far as the female nude in art. The interwoven and disrupting forms create the focal point of the work. Experimenting in mark making, while working with layering, pigmentation and transparency creates dynamic compositions. The additive and reduction process I use to abstract the body can lead to a completely different way of viewing the body. A feminist view point of the female nude.
![Painting of four, nude, female figures reclining. The figures are simplified to line using shades of blue, green, and red with a mustard yellow background using oil and acrylic paint.](_images/01_cynthiastasio-660x530.jpg)
Untitled // Oil and acrylic on canvas // 60 x 24 inches
![Charcoal drawing of one, nude, female figure in multiple positions on a bed. Some parts of the figure are highly rendered while other parts are just lines.](_images/02_cynthiastasio-660x445.jpg)
Untitled // Charcoal on stonehenge // 44 x 30 inches
![Painting of one, nude, female figure moving across the canvas in six different standing positions. The poses are fully rendered with bright pinks, purples, and blues pigments with a pink and orange background using oil paint.](_images/03_cynthiastasio-660x442.jpg)
Untitled // Oil on canvas // 35.5 x 24.5 inches
![Painting of four, nude, female figures sitting. The figures have parts that are fully rendered while other parts are just lines. Colors are all shades of blues and browns with a blue and white background and some paint knife marks using oil and acrylic paint.](_images/04_cynthiastasio-660x507.jpg)
Untitled // Oil, acrylic, and charcoal on canvas // 54 x 32 inches
![Painting of multiple female figures broken down to lines, abstracted and overlapping in many layers. Bold blocks of color and lines. Colors include pink, purple, blue, green and red using acrylic paint.](_images/05_cynthiastasio-660x495.jpg)
Untitled // Acrylic and charcoal on canvas // 40 x 30 inches
![Painting of two, nude, female figures sitting. Loosely painted with muted blocks of color with some strokes of bright blue, yellow and red using oil pastels and oil paint.](_images/06_cynthiastasio-660x656.jpg)
Untitled // Oil and oil pastels on panel // 18 x 18 inches
![Painting of multiple, nude, female figures that are fragmented and overlapping. Gestural brush strokes in the background with lines of charcoal layered on top. Colors include pink, orange, and maroon on a white background using acrylic and watercolor paints.](_images/07_cynthiastasio-660x962.jpg)
Untitled // Acrylic, watercolor, and charcoal on stonehenge // 44 x 30 inches
![Painting of four, nude, female figures reclining. Very loose painting with a lot of drips and pools of paints mixing together. Colors include blue, green, and yellow using acrylic paint.](_images/08_cynthiastasio-660x492.jpg)
Untitled // Acrylic on yupo paper // 60 x 44 inches
![Charcoal drawing of one, nude, female figure in two different sitting positions. Loosely rendered with a lot of mark making on the body. Small moments of brown, yellow, and green color using watercolor and oil pastels.](_images/09_cynthiastasio-660x481.jpg)
Untitled // Watercolor, charcoal, and oil pastels on panel // 18 x 13 inches
![Multiple, nude, female figures broken down into line, overlapping and intertwining. Varying line weights and blocks of color. Colors include Blue, orange, yellow, and teal using acrylic and watercolor paint.](_images/10_cynthiastasio-660x483.jpg)
Untitled // Acrylic and watercolor on stonehenge // 24 x 16 inches