Cynthia Dinan-Mitchell’s work invites us to revisit parts of the history of art, to rethink styles, genres and techniques that were previously irreconcilable. Through her syncretic approach, the artist brings together several influences and processes: Baroque, 17th-century Dutch still life, chiaroscuro, contour line, printmaking, Japanese and Western film aesthetics, silkscreen, ceramics, sculpture, as well as new elements in her approach, such as surrealism and botany. She boldly blurs the lines, confuses eras, deliberately creates anachronisms and provokes impossible encounters between heterogeneous objects.
Fully embracing the decorative nature of her installation works, the artist overturns the hierarchy of minor and noble arts. She creates intimate, familiar settings in which strangeness, freedom, seduction and humor coexist.
Born in 1977, Cynthia Dinan-Mitchell lives and works in Quebec City. After graduating from Concordia University in 2002, she obtained a Master’s degree in Visual Arts from Université Laval in 2007. The recipient of numerous grants, she was also awarded the Plein sud bursary and the Videre Relève en arts visuels de la Ville de Québec in 2011. Her work has been exhibited in several galleries and artist-run centers in Quebec and Canada, as well as at major events such as the Cupar Arts Festival in Scotland (2016), Manif d’art 8- La biennale de Québec (2017), and Orange 5 (2015). Her professional career is marked by several residencies here and abroad, including in Thailand, Australia, Germany and Belgium.
Her work can be found in the following collections:
Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec
Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (CPOA)
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
Méduse Collection
Collection de la ville de Montréal
As well as many private collections
