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Simmons College Trustman Gallery Presents "Transparent Couture And Other Pleasures", Sculpture By Cynthia Atwood

BOSTON (January 18, 2007) — Simmons College presents "Transparent Couture and Other Pleasures" sculpture by Cynthia Atwood, from February 5 - March 2, 2007 at the Simmons College Trustman Art Gallery, fourth floor, Main College Building, 300 The Fenway.

There will be a reception featuring the artist, from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 6. Also in attendance will be the recently appointed director of the Trustman Art Gallery and exhibition curator, Barbara O'Brien.

Atwood's mixed media sculptures combine large branches from her wooded property in the Berkshires, grapevines from abandoned farmlands, rubber bumble bees and plastic grapes, and layers of translucent painted silk. A mix of play and discipline, imagination and meticulous craft are all inspired elements in this bravura body of work. When viewing Atwood's sculptures we look into and through the works of art. Layers of translucent fabric are fluted, crimped, frilled, and ruffled. Sewn gesture combined with painted surfaces and tenderly bound branches from trees found on her Berkshire property create a rhythmic, sometimes cyclonic pattern with a scant place for the gaze to rest, but ample space for the imagination. A return to painting, her first training as an artist, is one of the hallmarks of this body of work. Atwood earned her BFA from the University of Kansas and her MFA from Vermont College of Norwich.

While Atwood's sculptures and installations have been exhibited in group shows at many New England venues including the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park and the Mills Gallery at Boston Center for the Arts, the Trustman Gallery exhibit is her first one-person show in the Boston area.

Awards for Atwood's sculpture include the 2000 National Prize at the Cambridge Art Association awarded by Carl Belz as well as a New England Foundation for the Arts 1997 Sculpture Fellowship. In 2005, Ms. Atwood was awarded a Klots Residency at Rochefort-en-Terre in Brittany, France. It was there that she developed the gouache studies and found inspiration for the series of sculptures on view at the Trustman Gallery. Atwood is represented by and all work is courtesy of Morgan Lehman Gallery, New York City.

Exhibit hours are from 10 a.m.- 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The gallery is wheelchair accessible. For more information about the exhibit, contact Marcia Lomedico at 617-521-2268 or visit the Trustman Art Gallery Web site.

Due to construction, parking is severely limited on the Simmons College campus.  Please visit the college's website for parking alternatives.