Caitlin Cherry (born

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

) is an African-American painter, sculptor, and educator.

Early life and education

Caitlin Cherry was born in 1987 in Chicago, Illinois. Cherry received her MFA degree from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 2012; and her BFA degree from the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a Private university, private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which gr ...

in 2010. She also participated in the

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Summer School of Art in Norfolk, Connecticut in 2009.

Art and career

As of 2020, Cherry serves as assistant professor of Painting + Printmaking at

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a Public university, public research university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virgin ...

. In 2021, Cherry formed a virtual, alternative arts education program entitled ''Dark Study'', along with artist Nicole Maloof. The program seeks to offset the hierarchical structure in universities while addressing racial and economic inequities. Cherry's work explores different topics, including the representation and visibility of black women as they relate to institutional power structures and security. She uses mixed techniques to do her work, combining sculpture, installation, and painting.

Exhibitions

Cherry has presented in various group and solo exhibitions. Her 2019 exhibition, ''Thread Ripper'' at Luis De Jesus gallery in Los Angeles received positive reviews in Art in America and Artillery Magazine. Other notable exhibitions include, ''Monster Energy'' at the

University of Massachusetts, Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the Flagship university, flagship campus of the Univer ...

in 2017, and ''Hero Safe'' at the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

in 2013, which consisted of three painting-installations for the ''Raw/Cooked'' project. ''Raw/Cooked'' was a series of projects by Brooklyn artists who have been invited by the Museum to show their first major museum exhibitions. She was the ninth solo artist in the series. She was inspired to build large-scale wooden weapons, based on drawings of Leonardo da Vinci, that act as supports for her paintings, such as ''Dual Capable Catapult Artcraft "Your Last Supper, Sucker,"'' 2013. Her work has also been the subject of solo exhibitions at

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Roman Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, it offers 47 undergraduate Academic ...

Galleries, Providence, RI (2018);

Anderson Gallery The Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts (also referred to as VCU School of the Arts or simply VCUarts) is a public non-profit art and design school in Richmond, Virginia. One of many degree-offering schools at VCU, the School of ...

at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (2018); University Museum of Contemporary Art at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (2017); and at The Brooklyn Museum as part of the ''Raw/Cooked'' series curated by Eugenie Tsai (2013). Group exhibitions include ''Opulence'' at The Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, NE (2022); ''Black Femme: Sovereign of WAP and the Virtual Realm'' at Canada Gallery, NYC (2021); ''A Wild Ass Beyond: ApocalypseRN'' (2018) at Performance Space, New York; ''Punch'' (2018) curated by

Nina Chanel Abney Nina Chanel Abney is an American artist, based in New York. She was born in Harvey, Illinois. She is an African American contemporary artist and painter who explores race, gender, pop culture, homophobia, and politics in her work. Personal life ...

Jeffrey Deitch Jeffrey Deitch (pronounced ''DIE-tch'';Mike Boehm (January 12, 2010)''Los Angeles Times''. born July 9, 1952) is an American art dealer and curator. He is best known for his gallery Deitch Projects (1996–2010) and curating groundbreaking exhib ...

, New York; ''Touchstone'' (2018) at American Medium, New York; ''The Sun is Gone but We Have the Light'' (2018) at Unclebrother/Gavin Brown's Enterprise, Hancock, NY; ''Soul Recordings'' at Luis De Jesus Los Angeles; ''Object d Shaping Sculpture'' ''in Contemporary Art'' (2016) at UMOCA, Salt Lake City, UT;

Banksy Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist, and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive ep ...

's Dismaland Bemusement Park (2015) in

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...

, UK; ''This is What Sculpture Looks Like'' (2014) at

Postmasters Gallery Postmasters is a contemporary art gallery located in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood, owned and directed by Magda Sawon and Tamas Banovich. The Postmasters gallery opened in East Village in December 1984, moved to SoHo in 1989, and was relocat ...

, New York; and Fore (2012) at the

Studio Museum in Harlem The Studio Museum in Harlem is an African-American art museum at 144 West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Founded in 1968, the museum collects, preserves and interprets art created by African A ...

, New York. She was included in the 2019 traveling exhibition ''Young, Gifted, and Black: The Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection of Contemporary Art''. In July and August 2020, Los Angeles' Luis De Jesus gallery presented ''Corps Sonore'', an online/virtual exhibition of Cherry's paintings and digital collages.

Awards and fellowships

* Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Fellowship Residency (2016). * Leonore Annenberg Fellowship (2015). * Lotos Foundation Fellowship (2012). * Ellen Battel Stoeckel Fellowship, Yale University (2009).

References

External links

VCU Faculty bio page

Luis De Jesus Los Angeles bio page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cherry, Caitlin Living people African-American women artists 21st-century American sculptors 21st-century American women sculptors Columbia University School of the Arts alumni School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Virginia Commonwealth University faculty 1987 births 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American artists 20th-century African-American artists 20th-century African-American women 21st-century American women painters 21st-century American painters 21st-century American women academics