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deryn’s Scenes from the Kitchen convey the warmth of home. She says she has “always felt a strong connection to kitchen scenes, especially still life paintings of humble domestic objects by artists such as Juan Sanchez Cotan and Georgio Morandi. I could relate to a painting of a cabbage hanging from a string more than any grand scale and dramatic action-packed work. When I started my degree in sculpture, I made ceramics reliefs and painted watercolors of the objects in the kitchen. I carved still lifes: pears and bottles from stone and orange peels from wood. When my children were little, I started taking pictures in my kitchen at the time of day when the late afternoon sun would suddenly illuminate the countertop like a stage set. Eager to capture the fleeting effect, I moved the fruit bowl into the light. ... I am interested in the quality of ordinary, humble objects and foods; I use gold leaf to elevate the mundane and accentuate their rich colors. The compositions are purposefully spontaneous to take advantage of the momentary light. They capture stillness out of a chaotic scene.” deryn’s current body of work is largely based on observations from the everglades and the wild garden she created as a habitat for the birds, fish and insects who share it with her. During the Covid pandemic, she took long walks through the Everglades, foraging for images. "Focusing on outer reflections led to inner-reflection, and deepened my connection to environment, I became immersed in the reflections on water and the organic structures within nature. Photography allows me to re-examine these images later in the studio, and I find unexpected layers within the reflections on the garden ponds and wild water surfaces. Below the clouds’ random patterns, I see unexplained but magnetizing life and decay revealed in organic harmony-raw red rotting leaves, microscopic specks of mysterious life, slime coated aquatic plant life. Using precious metal leaf to gild these images allows me to utilize a more conventionally valued material such as silver or gold to elevate the status of each image and change a simple photograph into a unique object with a solid presence. I push the method of oxidization to its limits to produce unique surfaces- beautiful and destroyed simultaneously to reflect the alchemy of nature.” deryn cowdy was born in London. She grew up in a family of artists on a small farm in the Welsh countryside. She obtained her Degree in Fine Art from Bath Academy of Art. Living in London, she worked as a scenic artist for theatre and photography studios, before moving on to work with a team of conservators restoring painted finishes for the National Trust. After moving to Miami, she painted murals and faux finishes for Versace and other high end residences. deryn lives in Miami with her husband, their two children and an unruly dog. Her studio is at Collective 62 in Liberty City, Miami. A large selection of her Scenes from the Kitchen series are on view at the Frank Art Gallery in Pembroke Pines, through May 20, in the "Inhabited" exhibition. She also has work in "Shared Narratives", a group exhibition by artists of Collective 62 at Galleria Ca'D'Oro in New York City, through May 19. DERYN COWDY'S WEBSITE COLLECTIVE 62 WEB SITE |