Please join us for the opening reception on July 20 of an exhibition of the fantastical paintings by Cecilia Heart

Exhibition of Cecilia Heart’s work runs through August 31st. All of the work is for sale.

Artist Statement

Animals are miraculous oddities. I am drawn by their strange bodies, charmed by their movements and expressions, and comforted by their presence. I render them as I encounter them in life and dream; Some of my paintings resemble portraits while others suggest hybrids, taking on invented amorphous forms and features. This process of creation is a reckoning with mortality, within and beyond my own body. Through scrape-colored palettes and wound-like surfaces, the animals are reminders that flesh is finite. Despite fate, they remain resilient in their expressions; their mere existence whimsical, visceral, and matter-of-fact.

Artist Bio

Cecilia Heart is an oil painter whose work explores the cyclical phenomena of bodily experience. Populated with animals and hybrids, their paintings allude to the silliness, wonder, and tragedy that comes with mortality. Heart grew up on the coast of North Carolina and moved to Chicago to study fine art. They graduated with a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2022. Connected to Chicago’s DIY scene, Heart has participated in local shows since 2023 and supports the DIY artist community.