Artist Statement: Cabello’s series of boxers, painted in oils on linen, show luminous torsos woven into a grid of gestural drips. She uses an edited palette of saturated colours to engage the viewer and let them step into the subjects’ sanctuary. By painting the colour temperature of her subjects she shares their resolve and journey. It is in this private place where the poignancy of each mans gaze is felt.

Her paintings are created using glazed transparent layers applied in an innovative, layered technique that she has developed over the years. Cabello becomes completely immersed in the piece and its evolution, as once the colour is applied it stays. Painting in this tiering technique allows for the luminosity of each layer to shine. From the woven veins of white to the heat of foreground red – inviting observation and consideration of the raw, gestural strokes that inhabit each piece.

The series explores the robust male and how society has created and disarmed him. The focus is on the individual and, like Michelangelo’s David; physicality does not make the task ahead less daunting.

Cabello’s emotive paintings explore the spectrum of her boxers’ story from the initiated to the robust. She contributes to the dialogue of the male image in art, while her subjects determine their white rope.

“My aspirations and endeavors as a contemporary artist are to interpret history, discuss injustice & apply masterful techniques.

Inspired by Velasquez's virtuosity, I aspire to assimilate the very best of artistic tradition and to leave my own unmistakable and highly personal mark. As explained by art critique & historian Robert Hughes, "To use what was old in a new way … didn't think in terms of 'copying' antiquity…Rather one (artists) sought and understood its principles grasped its essence and brought that forward into the present". [American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America, Pg 69]

Schumann best describes my other endeavor. "To send light into the darkness of men's hearts-such is the duty of the artist". [Robert A. Schumann - German Romantic composer, 1810-1856]”

A challenge is something to embrace and I anticipate exporting the two series (Stations and White Rope) to New York. White Rope (Series I) sold out in Sydney. Series II is sold out in Melbourne, next the Dumbo Arts Festival, Brooklyn, September 2011.

Biography: Miriam Cabello - Sydney, Australia

“I had always been encouraged to be creative. In 1971, my parents fled the impending coup and dictatorship of Chile. They arrived in Australia with just 50 cents, high hopes, aspirations of further education and a longing for avocados. I was four.

By my early teens I had discovered a symbiotic relationship with art. I forged a vision to embrace art, design and business, and undertook a post-graduate course in design at the University of Technology (UTS), Sydney.

My graphic design business, which I developed with my brother Victor Cabello, was acknowledged at the 2002 Australian Micro Business Awards with an unprecedented four awards. (Winner: NSW Creative Arts Category).”

Miriam is the first Australian artist to win The Annual International Religious Art and Architecture Design Awards for Visual Arts. During June, the 2010 National Convention of the American Institute of Architects (Miami, Florida) exhibited her award winning entry and became the springboard to represent Australia's rich cultural life.

The Winter 2009 AWARDS Issue of Faith & Form magazine published her winning entry, for the painting installation Stations of the Cross. The series is a contemporary melange of master techniques and innate expression that elevates figures traditionally seen in art as ‘other’ to that of Christ and his disciples.

“I paint to add breath to the dialogue of social justice and to keep it in the foreground – views also held by the jury: “Exhibiting these paintings in a church invites interpretations that reflect the changing times and the social context. The work is thought provoking and makes a powerful statement, recasting the Stations of the Cross as a contemporary and relevant experience.

My art grows from a passion for the civil rights movement and I have found inspiring voices in the oral history of individuals such as Dave Sands, an Australian Indigenous boxing legend. Painting a black boxer as Jesus empowers the artwork. - The paintings resonate as well as challenge and shift people's ideals.”

The boxer also informs her internationally acclaimed © White Rope 2011 series. The painting “White Rope III” was a Finalist & selected to exhibit at the National Art Museum of Sport, Indianapolis, USA.

“Since 2005 I have dedicated myself fulltime to art, and recognition has followed: a finalist in the Blake Prize and Mandorla Prize; a winner of the Manhattan Arts International; an exhibition in Barcelona; and a winner at the Florence Biennale where art legend Christo presented the award.”

In 2010 Miriam completed the Golden Artist Educators Program with Patti Brady and returned from studying in New York with renowned artist Daniel E. Greene. This was an intensive 3-week workshop dedicated to painting the figure from life and learning a comprehensive flesh palette derived from the Old Masters.

To celebrate the 400th Anniversary of Caravaggio's Death (1610-2010), Miriam launched Atelier Master School. This specialized and exceptionally structured school offers Innovative workshops and private instruction dedicated to the Old Masters’ Techniques.

Artist Highlights

• Lives In:    AUSTRALIA
• ArtWanted.com Gallery:    Fine Art
• Represented By:    MLC Gallery
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