Cindy Bernhard is an artist working in Chicago who creates thick oil paintings with a generous helping of humour.
The palette of Bernhard's work is immediately striking. She plays with bubblegum pinks, neon yellows, and shimmering holographic gradients. The colours are glossy and attractive, steeped in artificiality and excess. These themes are pushed further by the application of objects onto the surface of the canvas that are associated with beauty and extravagance, such as false lashes, nails, pom poms, and glitter. They ask us to question our perception of these items, while the work offers a comical smiley or deep frown to reflect our interpretations.
Cindy Bernhard's paintings are sweet and cakey, with icing-like impasto and ornate piping. We can almost taste the sugar in our mouths as we stare into those googly eyes.
