Brenda Cirioni

Brenda Cirioni uses references that are inspired by the emotional aftermath of catastrophic events. Cirioni’s past work centered on the iconic house shape to explore the devastating beauty of fire along with reconstruction and transformation as it relates to home and family. Recently Cirioni visited Mount Mazama, prior to its climactic eruption it had a summit height of about 12,000 ft. and was Oregon’s highest peak.  The massive volcano erupted violently, accompanied by collapse of the entire upper half of the edifice, creating Crater Lake. Cirioni’s first glimpse of Crater Lake rendered her speechless. In her own words the site was “stunningly beautiful and the epitome of transformation.” Crater Lake, along with her personal history with lightening and fire, are the inspirations of her new abstract paintings. Cirioni paints instinctively; layering color, scribbling, sanding, scraping, and building up the surface until an established dialogue emerges within each piece. Eventually, the marks, layers and vibrant colors generate a momentum of their own imbuing them with a new life.

Cirioni received her education from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, MA, through both the Diploma Program and the Fifth-Year Certificate Program. Her work was recently part of Beyond Structure: Representations of the American Barn, a traveling Brigham Young University exhibition. She’s exhibited in Attleboro Arts Museum, Danforth Museum, deCordova Museum, Fitchburg Museum and the Berkshire Museum. Her work can be seen in numerous galleries throughout New England.  Cirioni’s work is included in the corporate collections of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Fidelity Investments in Boston, as well as other institutions across the country, and in private collections, including the Wrigley family collection. Cirioni’s painting Dickinson’s Hope hung in the office of MA Governor Deval Patrick, and now resides in his collection. She works from her studio at Artspace in Maynard, MA.

Fountain Street Exhibitions: Altered Matter X2, Breaking the Rules, Thrive, Common Sensibilities, Yellow Too!, Yellow, Divergent Thinking, People's Choice, Terrain, Common Thread, Multiplicity, Natural Selection, 1st Anniversary: Paper

Back to ARTISTS