Cheryl Safren
Biography
Cheryl Safren is a New York-based visual artist whose work sits at the intersection of art and science. Her practice — spanning painting, sculpture, public art, and experimental processes — has been collected by universities, research institutions, and municipalities across the United States, Asia, and beyond. Her science art has appeared in National Geographic Science, Hyle, Chemical & Engineering News, Seisma, Art the Science, etc. She was guest speaker at an American Chemical Society convention held in Puerto Rico and was the keynote speaker at Junior Science Symposium held at Adelphi University. She holds a BFA from Pratt Institute and an MS from Hofstra University.
Cheryl exhibited on climate change in Daejeon, South Korea. The 2023 exhibit at the Today Art Museum in Beijing is based on the book “A Scientific World with Fancy Ideas.” Cheryl Safren is Chapter 2 of that book.
Artist Statement
My artwork on copper employs chemical reactions in its creation. Conceptualizing the underlying chemical reactions requires the mind to imagine that which it cannot see. I manipulate chemicals to create something new.
The first five images seen here Interior Transport, Density, Dispersion, Ions, and Energy, share an abstract interpretation of molecular dynamics. Vibrating, spinning, or moving from place to place, chemistry is concerned with how atoms interact. The title given each artwork is only my suggestion and the viewer is free to interpret on their own.
The next five images Nucleosynthesis, Sky, Prairie Fire, Sea Floor, and Bioscaffold Triptych highlight how light alters the viewer’s perception of my work. Light hits the copper panel and cascades into a burst of fiery color. When the light dims or strikes at any oblique angle the color becomes saturated, majestic, and even reverential. Shifting light on the copper surface and viewer movement are the kinesthetic forces altering perception, allowing us to discover new and interesting things each time we view this artwork.
Art created with chemistry
Interior Transport, 2004, chemistry on copper, 61H x91.44W cm
Density, 2023, chemistry on copper, 61H x91.44W cm
Dispersion, 2023, chemistry on copper, 61H x91.44W cm
Ions, 2023, chemistry on copper, 61H x91.44W cm
Energy, 2023, chemistry on copper, 61H x91.44W cm
Nucleosynthesis 2, 2004, chemistry on copper, 91.44H x 91.44W cm
Sky, 2005, chemistry on copper, 122H x 91.44W cm
Prairie Fire, 2005, chemistry on copper, 122H x 91.44W cm
Sea Floor, 2009, chemistry on copper, 61H x91.44W cm
Bioscaffold Triptych, 2011, chemistry on copper, 96.52H x 411.48cm