Press Release

NEW ORLEANS Heriard-Cimino Gallery presents Gatherings, a suite of new graphite and embroidered thread drawings/paintings by Monica Zeringue. A reception to meet the artist will be held on Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 from 6 to 9 p.m. in conjunction with the Art for Arts' Sake celebration. The public is invited. The exhibition will be on view from October 3-31, 2009. Gallery hours are Tuesday - Saturday 10 to 5, or by appointment.

In Monica Zeringue's new suite of drawings, the artist has moved from paper onto primed linen. Her work incorporates fine graphite lines and shading, embroidered thread and beads. Her subjects have moved into adolescence, existing in private spaces, impervious to outside forces. The blankness of background defines the borders of their world. Her figures possess almost paradoxical qualities, being both enigmatic and provocative. Her girls are joined and often intertwined in extraordinary configurations. Zeringue's new series has an intimate, sensual nature. Hair has increasingly become a primary element and focus, both symbolically and structurally. It binds the girls together and overtly wraps around their bodies. The new work continues to develop psychological and esthetic issues, urging the viewer to explore the depth, complexities and mystery of her subjects.

Monica Zeringue received her Masters of Fine Arts from the University of New Orleans in 2006, and her BA in 1993. In 1999 she was awarded the Prix de l'Acadamie de Paris, Societe Internationale des Beaux-Arts. She had exhibited her work at the Contemporary Arts Center in 2007 with a solo exhibition, as well as numerous gallery solo exhibitions in New Orleans since 1999. Her drawings and paintings have been exhibited in group exhibitions throughout the United States. Zeringue's work in included in the public collections, including the New Orleans Museum of Art, Frederick R Weisman Art Foundation Collection, Los Angeles, CA, the Alexandria Museum of Art, Alexandria, LA, and the Arts Council of New Orleans. Zeringue lives and works in New Orleans. This will be Zeringue's second solo exhibition at Heriard-Cimino Gallery.