ARTIST STATEMENT
My work explores how we attempt to hide things, what we withhold when we tell our stories, the difference between forgetting and purposeful fantasy, and the ways we patch things up and make do. Working in hand-embroidery and collaged paper and fabric, I attempt to make physical the discrepancy between the facade and what lies behind it, using the domestic—references to architecture, quilting, wallpaper—as a psychological portrait. Once a hole is punched into paper or a mark is stitched, it is impossible to remove the memory of it completely, so while the surfaces of my work reflect attempts to embellish, mend, fix, and join, the final pieces act as remnants of action, as palimpsests, where the act of repair becomes just as important as the repairs themselves.
ARTIST BIO
Cassidy Russell (she/her) is a Chicago-based artist, writer, actor, educator, and librarian who has worked in multiple print shops and has shown work in solo and group shows across the country. She has also worked (and does work) for many theaters, teaching and performing improv internationally, and spent years touring the country as a comedian. When not making art or making things up, she works part-time as a librarian and a children’s book reviewer and spends as much time in water as she is able. She holds a BFA in Printmaking from the University of Notre Dame, an MFA in Printmaking from Savannah College of Art and Design, and an MSLIS from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
© Cassidy Russell