Checking in with Artist Cherie Redlinger

Cherie Redlinger, Black Tears, 2021, Charcoal, water and acrylic on canvas, 30x20 inches

What are the issues and topics that most concern you at the moment that you are expressing through your art?

I am working on a series on the theme of Black Lives Matter. Based on photos I have taken, I am working in acrylic, charcoal and water on 24” x 30” canvases, creating portraits of black people. Black Lives Matter is personal to me because I have a black grandson, who is eight years old and lives in Tennessee with his father (my son) and mother. I am Jewish and I don’t understand why people treat other people like they should not exist, and I firmly believe that “Black Lives Matter.”

How has your work been affected events in our world over the last year or so?

The past year has emblazoned on the nation’s conscience the ruthless impact of systemic racism that exists in our country, as demonstrated by the killing of unarmed black Americans. Coupled with watching surrogates of this same hatred charge and seize the U.S. Capital, lite the fire of passion I feel for racial, religious and ethnic freedom. I knew I must express my feelings through my art and started my Black Lives Matter series.

Can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on at the moment and what your inspiration was?

Yes. Even while I learn how to battle the brutal effects of ALS (neurodegenerative

neuromuscular disease), which normally dominates an ALS patient’s life, my activist emotions were charged by witnessing the murder of George Floyd and the white supremacist, insurrectionist attack on our nation's Capital building on January 6th of this year. The blatant double standard that had been applied to peaceful Black Lives Matter protestors versus the attack on the Capital was the final straw for me. I immediately started working on my Black Lives Matter series comprised of charcoal, acrylic and water portraits of black Americans. The pieces show the individual beauty, strength and pain of Black America.

How do you think the world has (or will) change as a result of Covid-19?

The politicization of the pandemic deepened the divide within the United States and severely damaged international trust of this country. Lies, misinformation, inexcusable mismanagement and the shear lack of leadership in responding to the pandemic destroyed the US’s standing and place on the world stage.

There are monsters in our world. The stories have been horrible what some people do to others. Hate has a grip on so many people in our world. Yet, thankfully, the hope is that there are also many in our world that want peace.

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Cherie M. Redlinger was born in Los Angeles, CA and has been a professional artist for 25 years. She obtained a B.A. in Art History from the University of Maryland (European Division) and an MA in Art from California State University, Northridge. She has exhibited throughout the United States, parts of Europe and New Zealand. Some of the venues she has exhibited in have her artwork in their permanent collection which include Holocaust Museum in Florida, Latino Art Museum, California, AFOSI Headquarters, Virginia, Hill Country Arts Foundation, Texas, Turchin Center for the Visual Arts at Appalachian State University, North Carolina, ArtColle Museum & Gallery in Sergines, France, International Museo de Collage, Mexico, Contemporary Museum, Maryland and The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. As an artist activist she served has President of the Women's Caucus for Art (WCA) of Greater Washington, DC, as well as serving on the WCA National Board. She has been instrumental in was responsible in supporting the women’s art movement. She was a participant artist in CARAVAN’s touring exhibition titled “AMEN: A Prayer for the World” in 2014. About her work, Cherie writes, “Through my artwork, I create art forms to give depth to human emotions.”

www.cheriemredlinger.com