Iffa Jayyana
In the quiet, contemplative spaces of Chicago’s Plato Gallery, a series of monumental canvases is currently commanding the attention of the contemporary art world. Broken Vessels, the latest body of work by Chicago-based artist Cindy Bernhard, serves as both a meditation on human fragility and a bold inquiry into the nature of the divine. Through six-foot-tall depictions of fractured golden forms, Bernhard invites viewers to confront the intersection of Christian mysticism, existential anxiety, and the relentless machinery of modern life.
The exhibition, which runs through July 11th, arrives at a moment of profound cultural fragmentation. As the global landscape grapples with political polarization and the invisible, crushing pressures of digital acceleration, Bernhard’s work offers a stark, shimmering counter-narrative: that our wounds are not merely signs of defeat, but the very cracks through which transcendence may emerge.
The Genesis of an Aesthetic: A Chronology of Vision
To understand the depth of Broken Vessels, one must look at the trajectory of Bernhard’s academic and creative evolution. A product of Chicago’s rigorous artistic environment, Bernhard earned her BFA from the American Academy of Art in 2011. This foundational training provided her with the technical mastery of form and light that remains the bedrock of her practice today.
However, it was her pursuit of an MFA at the Laguna College of Art and Design, completed in 2014, that saw the crystallization of her thematic focus. During this period, Bernhard began to pivot away from traditional representational modes, instead gravitating toward the conceptual weight of spiritual rupture. Her work began to synthesize the historical gravitas of the Old Masters with a modern, existential sensibility. Over the last decade, she has steadily refined her visual vocabulary, moving from smaller studies of the human figure toward the imposing, large-scale abstractions that define her current output at Plato Gallery.
The Metaphor of the Vessel: Supporting Data and Themes
At the heart of Broken Vessels is a foundational metaphor: the human body as a container. Drawing upon ancient traditions that view the physical self as a vessel for the spirit, Bernhard elevates this concept through the use of gold—a material historically associated with divinity, permanence, and the uncorrupted nature of the sacred.
The Architecture of Fracture
The paintings, standing at an imposing six feet, are dominated by forms that appear to be in the process of shattering. This is not, however, a depiction of destruction in the nihilistic sense. Instead, Bernhard treats the "break" as a transformative event.
- The Golden Standard: By utilizing gold leaf and heavy, metallic pigments, Bernhard references Byzantine iconography, where gold served as a portal to the celestial realm. By applying these materials to fractured, irregular shapes, she asserts that the "divine" is not found in the pristine or the perfect, but in the reality of human experience.
- Symbolic Purifiers: Recurring motifs of water, fire, smoke, and light serve as the connective tissue between these fractured forms. These elements are employed not as mere aesthetic choices, but as symbols of purification. They act as the "reagents" that catalyze the transformation of the wounded vessel into something transcendent.
Existential Anxiety in the Contemporary Era
Bernhard’s work does not exist in a vacuum. She posits that the "spectacle" of contemporary consumption—defined by social media, hyper-connectivity, and the rapid-fire exchange of political outrage—acts as an invisible pressure on the individual soul. The "fractures" in her paintings are, in a sense, a reflection of this external reality. The artist asks a difficult, yet necessary question: What remains sacred when the boundaries of the self are constantly being eroded by the noise of the digital age?
Implications: The Search for Meaning in a Fragmented World
The resonance of Broken Vessels lies in its refusal to offer easy answers. It does not promise that the "vessel" can be made whole again; rather, it suggests that the broken state is a valid, even holy, condition.
A Response to Collective Anxiety
In an age of political extremity, many artists have retreated into overt didacticism. Bernhard, conversely, opts for a subtler, more visceral approach. By focusing on the body as a site of spiritual negotiation, she speaks to the collective anxiety of a generation that feels both hyper-visible and profoundly isolated. The implication of her work is that transcendence is not an escape from the world, but a deep engagement with the reality of our own imperfection.
The Sacred vs. The Spectacle
The exhibition challenges the gallery-goer to reconsider their relationship with consumption. If we are vessels for belief, what are we currently carrying? In a culture that values polished surfaces and seamless digital identities, Bernhard’s emphasis on the "crack" serves as an act of resistance. She suggests that by acknowledging our fragmentation, we might actually reclaim our capacity for genuine, unmediated experience.
The Plato Gallery Installation
The curation at Plato Gallery is integral to the impact of the work. The gallery’s minimalist, open-plan layout allows these six-foot canvases to breathe, forcing a physical dialogue between the work and the viewer. Standing before a piece that towers over the human frame, the viewer is forced to reckon with their own smallness, and perhaps, the vastness of the spirit that resides within that smallness.
The exhibition remains open to the public through July 11th. It serves as a rare opportunity to witness an artist in full command of her thematic range, successfully bridging the gap between the historical weight of religious art and the pressing, urgent anxieties of the twenty-first century.
Looking Ahead: Building a Community of Talent
As the art world continues to shift toward more diverse and inclusive platforms, the dialogue surrounding exhibitions like Broken Vessels is supported by a broader infrastructure of creative promotion. Organizations and entities, such as the Booooooom Art & Photo Book Award, are currently instrumental in providing artists the resources to translate their visual work into physical, archival formats.
For emerging artists, the path forward often requires this blend of high-concept creation and practical, community-driven dissemination. Whether it is through the 276-page Tomorrow’s Talent 5 volume, which highlights the work of over 60 artists, or the collaborative spirit of secret email clubs and digital archives, the artistic ecosystem is evolving. It is a system that, much like Bernhard’s paintings, relies on the connection of individual parts to create a larger, more resilient whole.
Final Thoughts
Cindy Bernhard’s Broken Vessels is more than an exhibition; it is a profound inquiry into the endurance of the human spirit. By stripping away the veneer of perfection and exposing the raw, golden edges of the soul, she provides a mirror for the contemporary viewer. In the cracks, she argues, we find not just our vulnerability, but the light that sustains us. As the exhibition continues its run, it remains a vital touchstone for those seeking meaning in the spectacle, reminding us that even the most fractured vessel can still hold the infinite.
For more information on the exhibition, visit the Plato Gallery website. To stay updated on contemporary artistic developments, consider joining curated creative networks and following ongoing calls for submissions that support the next generation of visual thinkers.
Asro
Rifan Muazin
