Cherisse Alcantara (b. Philippines) is a Filipina-American painter based in San Francisco. She received her MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (2021) and her BA Art Practice from the University of California-Berkeley (2013). While engaging with the observed world and the formal language of painting, she conjures imaginary spaces. Her practice is anchored in the familiar and reimagines the spaces of everyday. Inspired by the areas she lived in or frequented including the built environment and nearby landscapes, she explores light, luminosity, saturated color, abstract design and representation. Rooted in experiences of loss, disconnect and estrangement from home, space and time, her art reflects upon transience and the need to dwell longer.
Statement
I seek to spend time with and hold on to places a little longer through my practice; to be home is to feel connected to the world rather than merely pass by or pass time. Living in our hyperactive society, I feel estranged from space and time. Additionally, having come from a fragmented personal and cultural background, my experiences of home and place are of loss and disconnect.
My paintings are anchored in the familiar and reimagine the spaces of everyday. While engaging with the observed world and the formal language of painting, I conjure imaginary spaces. The identities and specificities of my subjects, their underlying structure, abstract design, and positive and negative spaces within shapes and colors are captivating. Drawn to light, luminosity, and vivid colors that recall our technological culture, I work with thinly layered paint and iridescent pigments to create luminous surfaces.
The mundane moments, textures and shapes that fill contemporary urban life absorb my attention in my present series. The objects and areas where I lived or frequented, including my home and neighborhood, the built world, and nearby landscapes, are sources of inspiration. Light and shadow and construction and deconstruction within the natural and human-made environment are recurring themes that remind me of the presence of time.
My paintings are anchored in the familiar and reimagine the spaces of everyday. While engaging with the observed world and the formal language of painting, I conjure imaginary spaces. The identities and specificities of my subjects, their underlying structure, abstract design, and positive and negative spaces within shapes and colors are captivating. Drawn to light, luminosity, and vivid colors that recall our technological culture, I work with thinly layered paint and iridescent pigments to create luminous surfaces.
The mundane moments, textures and shapes that fill contemporary urban life absorb my attention in my present series. The objects and areas where I lived or frequented, including my home and neighborhood, the built world, and nearby landscapes, are sources of inspiration. Light and shadow and construction and deconstruction within the natural and human-made environment are recurring themes that remind me of the presence of time.