View Anne Canfield's CV Here

Press Release

Seraphin Gallery proudly announces the opening of Fugue State, a solo exhibition featuring painter and draftsperson, Anne Canfield. The exhibition will run from December 5th through January 4th with an opening reception on Friday, December 5th, from 6 – 8 PM.

Fugue State will feature Anne Canfield's small-scale drawings and paintings, in which the artist draws inspiration from Early Netherlandish and Indian Miniature paintings. Canfield displays whimsical subject matter that, upon first sight, appears to be light and playful. On the contrary, her works actually evoke an unsettling feeling in the viewer. Duality of revelry and anxiety work together in Canfield's pieces in order to create her highly detailed works.

The title of the exhibition, Fugue State, partly refers to a rare psychiatric disorder characterized by reversible amnesia of an individual. It often involves unplanned travel or wandering, and is sometimes accompanied by the establishment of a new identity (Wikipedia). Canfield's fantastical imagery references both self-identity and memory. Additionally, the use of the fugue form in music is considered restrictive (focusing on one subject), thus allowing freedom for the composer by directing their efforts. Fugue writing has its roots in improvisation as well. Canfield’s restriction of scale and medium work in much the same vein, giving way to her endlessly playful use of the pencil and paint.

When speaking of her own work, Canfield  states, "I use a variety of media as points of departure, ranging from personal photography to elements of film ... Loosely narrative, my pieces reveal quiet, solitary moments when a sense of time or place is trapped and brought to stand  still. I hope that a viewer of my work might perceive something strange and unsettling but also sweet and familiar. While the whimsy of my pieces reflect a certain sense of childhood revelry, they too express a hint of anxiety (perhaps in response to contemporary conditions) not unlike the tales of Grimm."

Canfield received her BFA from Moore College of Art and Design in 1999 and attended Yale University Summer School of Painting and Music in 1998. Currently, she lives and works in Philadelphia. Numerous museum and galleries have included Canfield in prominent solo and group exhibitions, including Woodmere Art Museum, Delaware Art Museum, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and the Philadelphia Museum of Arts.