ISABELLA CUGLIEVAN: THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING SMALL

Marvin Gardens is pleased to announce the opening of “The Advantages Of Being Small.” This exhibition marks Isabella Cuglievan’s first solo show. We are excited to present both paintings on canvas and on paper.

In these works, highly pigmented watercolor and ink immediately offer an intensely vivid kaleidoscopic effect, ripe with floral and textile references. While the patterning may reference textile and quilting from across the globe, the color palette shows influence distinctly Peruvian - Cuglievan was born and raised in Lima.

These paintings are made by layering carefully chosen blends of color upon carefully chosen blends of color, within a predetermined framework often radiating around and from the center. At times we see thick ribbons of color which look as if sliced-through, revealing additional bands of color inside, a reading that suggests the psychedelic, while also akin to digital glitch patterns. As symmetry is tested and pulled into asymmetry, the works remain grounded in repetitive compositions and controlled brushwork. The surfaces return the viewer again and again to the thin and delicate nature of the application.

The paintings are as delicate as they are strong, a challenging combination to achieve. We look forward with great excitement to seeing Cuglievan take her place in a new generation of painters, leading us in expanding our language of abstraction.