A Name to Know: Cristine Brache
Our monthly spotlight on a rising artist
Cristine Brache is an artist you should know. Cristine combines more processes than my simple-minded brain can keep up with to forge a unique, thoughtful, and inventive style of working. Her practice, which has spanned photography, video, painting, sculpture, and probably a few other mediums I am forgetting, has an investigatory element of going deep within a specific topic that merits further understanding. I wrote about Cristine’s 2022 exhibition Bermuda Triangle (subject matter evident from the title), and have been gleefully following along with her practice since. Her current point of examination is focused upon Dorothy Stratten, a Playboy Playmate whose life and career was cut short when she was murdered by her husband in 1980 at the age of 20. By highlighting Dorothy, Cristine is addressing a batch of much more meta ideas, including time, fame, femininity, and societal roles. Next year, you will find Cristine’s work on view in Brussels and probably a few other places. I recommend checking out Cristine’s website, which feels like a never-ending portal of fun.
Name:
Mode: Photography, Painting, Sculpture, Video, etc.
Homebase: Manhattan, NY
INSIDE THE STUDIO
What is one thing that takes place in your studio practice that would surprise people to know?
I love to binge-listen to A&E's I Survived on YouTube while working. I find it so intimate and shocking, so many things I could never imagine. A lot of hot tips too.
Is there a past piece of work you often think about?
No, not really. But I feel a lot of satisfaction when I recall the video-sculpture: Goodnight Sweet Thang.
What’s the most precious object in your studio?
A stack of VHS cassettes of video art my oldest friend, Michael Arcos, and I made as teens, respectively. In high school, we were in TV production and used to edit on analog VTRs (I once saw seniors bootlegging the infamous R. Kelly piss tape on those machines). My first video art work was part of Miranda July's Big Miss Moviola Chainletter Tape series. I have a copy of this chainletter tape along with other early video art works of hers in my studio too. Michael and I would make VHS label artwork for our videos, so I really love how colorful and unusual this stack looks in my bookshelf.
OUTSIDE THE STUDIO
What would your dream party entail?
Inspired by the legendary and obscene Vanderbilt ball of 1883, there is an open air palace on a remote island in the Bahamas. Everyone is happy. Adam Sandler is there. I wear a beautiful gown that is insanely comfortable. I am barefoot. My hair is perfect. The floors are made of marble and the color combinations would be notable to Joseph Albers. The ceilings are high. The architecture feels Arabic. A string of my favorite 1950s Doo-wop bands play various sets throughout the day. The music haunts me. Elvis sings Unchained Melody to me and my husband and we cry. No one needs drugs because everyone feels whole. We serve the finest waters. We remember we can use space in ways we've forgotten and do not feel inhibition. There is a long table full of decadent foods of good origin. We eat then dance at a ball. In the late afternoon there are fireworks by Cai Guo-Qiang. At sunset, we swim in the warm placid sea, float, and look up at the sky to observe its changing colors. Eventually it is full of stars. We feel one yet separate and this awareness makes us cry because the feeling is so profound, we understand heaven. At 3AM we find a genie lamp and take turns making silly wishes.
What is something you want to leave behind in 2024 and something you want to bring into 2025?
I always aim for more authenticity in every aspect of my life and forgo anything that curtails it.
What does an ideal day off of work look like?
I laze around in bed in the mornings often not thinking or simply observing the extent of the sun in my room. The light in there, at that time of day, often reminds me of Hopper's light and his New York; the quiet reminds me of his really specific depictions of solitude. I really enjoy sitting with that reminiscence. Later on, who knows what the day might bring? For I allow myself the freedom to not have a routine or schedule on my days off because it is an easy and effective way for me to truly feel mentally free and maintain a core sense of balance that is in communion with the universe. I accept we need to count time to function in this world and understand that counting time wears on me because it very often betrays the rhythm of my natural energy. Time is so persistent and unrelenting, the cycles of work and the demands of survival. Success to me means that I don't have to think about time as often as I do now. So I suppose on the weekends I love to roleplay huge success.
Thank you 🤍♥️🤍♥️