Visiting Gettysburg National Military Park can amount to moving from one memorial to another, but Cynthia Daignault’s new series of paintings at Kasmin Gallery, inspired by the Civil War battlefield, focus not on the built environment but the natural world. Called ‘a rumination on the meaning of site and time’ by the gallery, Daignault’s work features ‘witness trees,’ which were alive in the 1860s and are still in place today. Surrounded by graves, the trees operate outside of a human timeframe and offer an alternative perspective on historic events. Painting titles include terms like ‘synecdoche’ or ‘chiaroscuro,’ suggesting that parts of an image can tell a larger story or that events exist in shades of light and dark. Here, ‘Gettysburg (Stereoscopic)’ nods to the popular 19th century photographic technique that creates depth by presenting two near identical images side-by-side. (On view through Jan 8th. Note holiday hours and closures.)
Cynthia Daignault, Gettysburg (Stereoscopic), oil on linen, 30 x 60 inches, 2021.
Merrily Kerr is an art critic and writer based in New York. For more than 20 years, Merrily has published in international art magazines including Time Out New York, Art on Paper, Flash Art, Art Asia Pacific, Art Review, and Tema Celeste in addition to writing catalogue essays and guest lecturing. Merrily teaches art appreciation at Marymount Manhattan College and has taught for Cooper Union Continuing Education.
For more than a decade Merrily has crafted personalized tours of cultural discovery in New York's galleries and museums for individuals and groups, including corporate tours, collectors, artists, advertising agencies, and student groups from Texas Woman's University, Parsons School of Design, Chicago's Moody Institute, Cooper Union Continuing Education, Hunter College Continuing Education and other institutions. Merrily's tours have been featured in The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Sydney Morning Herald and Philadelphia Magazine.
Merrily is licensed by New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs as a tour guide and is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA USA)
View all posts by Merrily Kerr
