Biography
Cara De Angelis was born and raised in the harsh, wooded terrain of undomesticated Connecticut. Brought up in such exotic and wild conditions fueled her natural inclination toward the work she makes concerning death and domestication.She has had shows in Connecticut, Minnesota and New York as well as received a residency in Giverny, France. She is a recipient of the Rudolph Zallinger Painting Award. In 2011, Cara graduated with her Master’s degree from the New York Academy of Art in Tribeca. She currently lives and works in New York City.Artist Statement
The two central themes of my work are the Tragic and the Infantile. These themes are embodied through modern, real-life tragedies such as roadkill, and in nostalgic satires of domestic abuse and childhood depravity through the use of Barbie dolls. I create both meaningful and ironic settings by re-contextualizing everyday objects and actions. The inclusion of dolls and children’s toys in my roadkill paintings and Barbie drawings are used to symbolize both frailty and nostalgia. The mangled and bloody roadkill represent our modern relationship with undomesticated animals and meat, as well as the vulnerability of life. The often-decrepit childlike memorabilia from past eras speaks of this fragility. In the instance of Barbie, the dolls represent nostalgia, infantilism and immorality. In both series of work, dolls are used as a means of finding humor in tragedy.CARA De ANGELIS
