cristianajoy

The Art of Cristiana Cole

In a time when “anything goes,” it is refreshing to discover an artist with a sharp sensitivity to people and issues, with a mystical inspiration served by a strong education and technique in her craft. Cristiana Cole is a “global” artist whose diversity of expression, born from a multicultural background, takes various forms: painting and drawing, sculpture, writing, photography, music, performance arts, dance, fashion design and even interior design. Her subjects are portraits, nudes, decorative abstracts, florals, mythological compositions, spiritual or literary themes, an occasional landscape and still-life — created in oil, acrylic, Venetian plaster, graphite and ink or other experimental processes. Cristiana’s textured, emotional and poetic paintings also incorporate crystallized collage fragments, graceful lines and delicate style that provoke the viewer’s own thoughts, feelings, memories and imagination. Her palettes emerge directly from her intimate observations of life’s minute details. Cristiana often uses metallics and earth tones in groups of three to give depth to her work. She breaks the rules of traditional painting. For instance she enjoys mixing oil with water, and watching how water based paint repels her graphite sketches to settle in originally unplaced areas. Painting for Cristiana is an alchemical process as well as an experiment in capturing the spirit of nature. She enjoys the serendipitous qualities of compounds that develop with time. Cristiana’s beautiful treatment of the human figure draws from the spiritual, mythological and secular visions of the past and the timeless emotional energy of her subjects in the now. Her work is intriguing and seductive, never trivial. Her representation of the human form, her aptitude to capture and express feelings, her sense of line, texture and color are astonishing from such a young artist. Whereas others choose a path of defiance and provocation, Cristiana challenges our sensitivity with the very language of timeless art, which is grace and inspirational beauty.


Cristiana Cole was born in Mexico City to a large, prestigious and artistic family. There, she experienced a magical childhood. Her grandmother Martha Joy Gottfried is a respected landscape artist who had close ties to Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Cristiana grew up in Miami and relocated to Phoenix Arizona, and upon traveling to Los Angeles she met her husband (renowned composer and producer) Gardner Cole. Her work has been shown in the Phoenix Art Museum, West Valley Art Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Phoenix International Airport Art Gallery. Cristiana will be the Guest Artist at the Herberger Art Museum in Phoenix for “EMPATHY” March - May 2010. Cristiana has been featured in the books “Voices of Arizona”, “The Naked and The Lens” and “Dream Child” Vol.’s I, II and III.

Cristiana is an artist who expresses herself in a variety of ways. “I have been blessed to have strong role models in my life, teaching me the courage to follow my dreams and the freedom to discover them. To them I am extremely grateful.”