Cheryl Hochberg

Bertha’s Monster
pastel, painted fabric on paper

I selected this exhibition because the words “mutation” and “other” are words that I commonly use to talk about my work. My recent work depicts animals, and the work’s initial impression is one of fantasy and humor. On second glance however, the work has a dark undercurrent, due in part to the uncomfortable situations and mutations that I inflict on my animals.

I gather my reference material from photo sessions with the animals. I am always struck by how transparent they are in some ways (how they demonstrate their curiosity, or how they communicate the fact that they wish I would leave), and how opaque in others. Ultimately, it is impossible for me to get my head inside the heads of these animal subjects, and it is this “otherness” that I find so strange, so fascinating, and so enticing.