ARTWORK DESCRIPTION:
Philosophers of the Smoking Room: Jacques Lacan - ’Smokin’ Hot’
The title of this series comes from a book published in 1908 titled “The Philosophers of the Smoking Room.” While this book pre-dates the work of the Philosophers in this series – I used the title because I found it humorous. Every person in the photos holds a cigarette or cigar – the clichéd, albeit romantic notion of a Philosopher.
The text on each piece is a quote from the writings of the Philosopher in the photo. I’ve painted over each photo, and then scratched off the paint, leaving only remnants. I’ve used another vintage philosophy book for the pages on each of these works, burning the edges – a nod to all of the smoking that’s going on - and obscuring most of the text with a thin layer of paint so the words hazily rise to the surface. Some words remain uncovered and loosely allude to the context and quotes.
Appropriating a pre-existing text and obscuring the original document serves to act as a mirror for the ideas, needs, and desires of the viewer. And is a direct nod to the writings of each of these philosophers and some of the concepts they address in their work. The hidden words act as a metaphor for the subconscious – an awareness and the thoughts that exist just under the surface, almost out of reach, barely perceptible. The “unspoken” I believe exists in us all.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY:
Cynthia Grow is a visual artist whose work explores the interstices between art and language. Influenced by her studies in literature, she works alternately between abstract paintings and text-based conceptual works on paper. She harnesses the same sources of inspiration for both – language and memory – and achieves an overall aesthetic signature marked by strong senses of mood, poetry, and atmosphere.
Cynthia studied painting at Accademia d’Arte in Florence, Italy and has completed projects at residencies throughout Italy and Spain, as well as seminars at New York Studio School, National Academy School of Fine Art, and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In addition to studio training, she completed a program in Modern and Contemporary Art, Connoisseurship, & the Art Market at Christie’s Education New York and holds a Master’s degree with a concentration in Modern Arts & Literature.
​Cynthia has exhibited works in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami as well as galleries and cultural centers in Europe including Florence, Venice, Rome, Madrid, and Barcelona. Her work has been featured in prizes, publications, and exhibitions across both continents. For more than a decade, she has been living and working between the U.S. and Catalunya. She now lives in her native Florida, working between there and extended periods in Barcelona.