Cicely Carew | Celebration
May 30, 2021 - July 1, 2021
Community Room @ The Commons, 46 Bradford St, Provincetown, MA
“The magic and transfiguration of abstraction create a space of openness for people’s souls to wander, to be encapsulated on a painting’s surface. In fact, I’d love to be a painting—that would be my ideal existence.” -Cicely Carew in conversation with Mallory Ruymann, Boston Art Review
art_works is pleased to partner with The Commons, Provincetown to present Celebration, a site-specific installation by Cicely Carew in the Community Room at The Commons’ location in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Opening over Memorial Day Weekend on May 30, 2021 and on view into the beginning of the summer season, the installation marks Carew’s first exhibition project on Cape Cod.
2020 was an era of isolating lockdowns and social distancing. Many sought comfort in the hope that, somewhere in the future, we would gather together again. Celebration is a site-responsive installation by the artist Cicely Carew that embodies hope by highlighting The Commons as a space bringing people together. As the possibility of gathering returns to our lives, Celebration reminds us of the power of togetherness and the fundamental Joy of being in community.
Cicely Carew was born in Los Angeles, CA, spending her formative years in the city. She has a BFA in Painting from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and recently completed her MFA from Lesley Art + Design in Cambridge, MA, where she now lives with her son. Carew actively exhibits her work in group shows and creates public art installations around the Boston area, including a 2021 major public art project in the Prudential Center commissioned by Now + There. Cicely Carew’s practice manifests a unique abstract visual language across paintings, drawings, collages, and assemblages. Her multi-valent practice is bound together by a belief in the transformative power of Joy as a visual aesthetic and personal attitude. By signaling to these things through unbridled material expression, the artist reveals feeling as the common point of connection across seemingly disparate mediums, objects, and ultimately, people.
The Commons is a collaborative workspace for artists, creatives, and small businesses, serving communities on Cape Cod and the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. Building on the traditions and strengths of Provincetown’s history, The Commons is committed to supporting the town’s effort to both preserve and grow the arts as a vital part of the local economy and as a facet of Provincetown’s tourism. Along with studio and coworking space, The Commons also offers an exhibition hall and a sculpture gallery where artists can publicly show their work.