Artist: Paintings by Deedee Cheriel

From Juxtapoz Magazine - September 30, 2010

Opening Reception: October 9, 2010 (8 - 11pm)
Merry Karnowsky Gallery / 170 S. La Brea Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036

In her satirical and playful work, animal and human hybrids engage with each other and their environment, a familiar yet surreal world in which bird-headed women riding fish seem perfectly natural. Cheriel's works are meditations on the tedious dramas of her real-life Los Angeles social circle where boyfriend stealing friends, narcissistic hippies, do-gooders, and intellectuals are anthropomorphized into a surreal world of random theatre. Her paintings are the alchemy that transform pettiness into visual treasures.

“Cheriel's vibrant, gestural work beautifully juxtaposes humans, plants, and animals, connecting species figuratively and literally. Her pieces are whimsical, but profound in their ability to shift the viewer's perspective to value all life equally. Deedee's work demonstrates a powerful tension between the design elements of stripes, patterns, and color fields, with lyrical illustration. Deedee's work is idiosyncratic in the most ideal way... it is a reflection of her unique personality.”
- SHEPARD FAIREY

Referring to the magic of transforming societal ailments into beauty is the source for the title of the show, "Abracadabra" the incantation chosen by magicians and mystics to heal the seemingly incurable. The word was originally used by a Roman physician in the 2nd Century who prescribed disease sufferers to wear an amulet containing the word “Abracadabra” written in the form of a triangle. Combining elements from nature, urban landscapes, history, and pop culture, the paintings delve into the universal human need to find commonalities between ourselves and the world around us.

Using acrylic paint on wood and paper in a combination of textile-like patterns, delicate lines, haphazard drips, and fragile expressions, the artist transforms personal dramas into a commentary on humanity’s heroic quest for love and connection. In one painting a cult-like group of horse-headed women kneel before a bear-headed shaman who growls sharply in brightly colored patterns resembling native weaving. The horse-women, while cultish and beautiful, can also be seen as vain and unpredictable, as referenced in Chinese, Celtic, and Greco-Roman symbolism.
With influences (East Indian temple imagery, folk art, feminist punk rock, mysticism,

and the naturalistic environments of her Pacific Northwest childhood) derived from her diverse background, Cheriel’s work explores narratives that recognize the urgency and continuing conflict in our attempts to connect to the world and each other.

Cheriel began her art career creating record covers and T-shirts for the Oregon music scene in the early '90s. She played in several all-girl bands and co- created the semi-autobiographical film Dow n and Out with the Dolls. Her artwork has shown in galleries in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, San Francisco, Chicago, Portland, London, and Melbourne, Australia. She currently lives and works in Los An geles, CA.