For Immediate Release
Christine Ferrouge
Girls in the Mirror
August 10 - September 6, 2024
Opening Reception
Saturday, August 10th, 3-5pm
Catalog Release and Conversation with Shana Nys Dambrot
Saturday August 17th, 3pm
Los Angeles Art Association Artists' Walkthrough
Saturday August 24th, 2pm
Gallery 825, Los Angeles Art Association
825 N La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90069
@laaagallery825
Artist Contact: Christine Ferrouge
christine ferrouge at g mail dot com
@christineferrouge
christineferrouge.com
Opening August 10th, Los Angeles Art Association presents Girls in the Mirror, a solo exhibition with new paintings by Christine Ferrouge. Ferrouge's work examines girlhood via careful observation of her three daughters. Based on a series of moments in front of a bathroom mirror, these large paintings reveal a timely girl-centric narrative about self-image.
Identity is a frequent area of exploration in Ferrouge's work. In Girls in the Mirror, a variety of personal and social connotations are brought to the surface. The mirror is a place of personal invention and discovery. The paintings conjure fond memories of "getting ready" with sisters or friend, but the age-old act of primping can also lead to narcissism or feelings of inadequacy.
Keenly aware of her predecessors, Ferrouge's paintings comment on the history of oil painting itself in how she uses the medium and presents the girls. Her contemporary style and application of paint celebrates drawing and abstract rendering, with exposed brushwork, calculated negative spaces, and bold strokes of color. In these impactful, enveloping paintings, the viewer participates as another witness amongst the artist and her three subjects. The scale and command of each young figure is unlike the docile commodities that women have commonly embodied.
Girls in the Mirror provokes many conversations for art and contemporary society, but Ferrouge's perspective on girlhood is clear: the paintings are hopeful, dignifying, and respectful of the powerful young women-to-be. This portrayal of girlhood beckons us into a new era of female representation.
About the Christine Ferrouge
Ferrouge grew up in Edina, Minnesota and fell in love with painting at a young age. In the recent decade, Ferrouge's large paintings document her three daughters in narratives about girlhood. Ferrouge lives with her husband and three girls (currently ages 10, 14, and 16) and they frequently collaborate with her in the concepts behind the paintings. Ferrouge works in her studios in Oakland and Los Angeles.
Ferrouge studied art in Florence, Amsterdam, and Spain; and earned a BFA in painting from the University of Evansville, Indiana. In addition to her art practice, Ferrouge is a teacher and curator. She contributes passionately to her art communities including: Oakland Art Murmur, Los Angeles Art Association, and Kipaipai Fellows. Ferrouge's work has been exhibited at the deYoung Museum Open Exhibit, solo show at Gray Loft Gallery, and many featured exhibitions at GearBox Gallery in Oakland, California. Girls in the Mirror is her first solo show with Los Angeles Art Association, Gallery 825.
About Los Angeles Art Association
(LAAA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide opportunities, resources, services and exhibition venues for emerging Los Angeles artists of all media. LAAA began as a civic art institution in the 1920s, connecting elite art interests to Hollywood collectors, emerging after World War II as the center of Los Angeles modernism and finally becoming the city's nexus for emerging artists of all media. LAAA serves as a dynamic force for contemporary ideas, outreach, and community. Gallery 825 and Los Angeles Art Association are located in the heart of La Cienega Boulevard's Restaurant Row at 825 North La Cienega Bl., Los Angeles, CA 90069. Gallery hours are by appointment. Please call 310.652.8272 or visit www.laaa.org.
Please join us in celebrating Ferrouge's new work Saturday, August 10, 3-5pm
*IMAGES ATTACHED*
Ferrouge. Girls in the Mirror 1, 48" x 60", oil on canvas, 2024
Christine Ferrouge in studio, June 2024
Christine Ferrouge in studio, June 2024
Christine Ferrouge in studio, June 2024
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