Cydnie L. King
Cydnie L. King was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri to a family of artists. After graduating from Webster University in 2012 with a BA in Studio Art, she moved to Fairborn, Ohio in 2014 where she currently lives with her husband, son, daughter and dog.
Cydnie presently works for The Contemporary Dayton (The CO) as their Curatorial Assistant. She has been part of several exhibitions in Ohio and Missouri including the prestigious St. Louis Art Fair and solo exhibitions at the Terry Lynn Studio and Gallery in Fairborn, The Betty at Front Street and the African American Visual Artists Guild (AAVAG) in Dayton, Ohio. Her main body of work explores the connection between humanity and nature by using bright vivid colors to portray androgynous figures and technological circuits physically attached to botanicals. King works with inks, pastels, color pencils and charcoals because she likes the fluidity of each medium together and the saturation of colors that help emphasize the power of the images she creates.
“We as humans are part of nature and nature will never leave us, no matter how much we may try to separate ourselves from it. We are always drawn back to it in some form. In my main body of work, I use androgynous figures and electronic components from circuit boards to stand for humanity as a whole while I put them together with leaves to best illustrate their similarities. I focus on the veins of leaves and flowers to compare them to our veins and sometimes show them deteriorating to emphasize my point of this special connection growing weaker but still remains. I want my drawings to help serve as a constant reminder that nature is still a strong part of our lives and always will be, no matter how much we may try to sever or alter this bond. Humanity spends all this time and technology trying to alter nature—trying to make things grow bigger, look prettier, taste better, etc. But we never stop to question how this really affects the plant, or how it affects our overall connection to each other. My goal is to illustrate this bond as vibrantly as possible.”
Cydnie is constantly influenced by nature and an inherent need to create. “I feel as though I must create. I must show that a leaf is not just a leaf to me. I feel a deep need inside myself to bring that beauty and power I see to the forefront and make others stop and see even a fraction of what I do.” She also feels that having supportive parents really helped improve her art, as well as working for a non-profit art gallery. Being immersed in the Dayton art scene and connecting with fellow professional artists helped refine her work and learn new skills to thrive as a professional working artist.
Her work is also featured in several private and public collections across the Midwest, including The University of Dayton.
Instagram: @cydnie_ld_king
Cydnie Deed King
