Bio
Lybi Cucurullo is a conceptual artist whose work is significantly influenced by her background in mathematics and sculpture. She received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Central Florida in 2011, and her Master of Fine Arts from CUNY Brooklyn College in 2019. Currently, she is a Professor and the Director of the Galleries at Brenau University. She was awarded the Wolff Ravenal travel grant in the Spring of 2019 to pursue research in Utah and was an artist in residence at the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild in Woodstock, NY in the summer of 2019, the summer of 2024, and again in the fall of 2026. Additionally, she was a artist in residence at A.I.R. Studio in Paducah, Kentucky in the winter of 2019 and again in 2022. She has shown in numerous group shows in Brooklyn, Atlanta, Athens, Norfolk, Paducah, and throughout the Hudson Valley. She has taught courses at Brooklyn College, Georgia Military College, and Brenau University, and is currently the Director of the Galleries with Brenau University. She is passionate about helping young artists develop their voice and vision in the classroom, and providing a platform for established artists to share their work. Throughout her entire life, the Arts have been a pillar for her own development, and she continues today to use her skills and experience to cultivate a creative community through the Arts.
Lybi Cucurullo uses a broad spectrum of media – including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and video – to address the overarching concept of cycles in nature. Sunrises and sunsets are a frequent theme in her work, as they represent one of the most consistent cycles which occurs daily. Similarly, birds – with their migratory and seasonal cycles – are another common theme in her work. However, within these seemingly predictable cycles, often lie uncertainty and mystery. The goal of her work is to communicate the balance between what is constant and what is unpredictable, illuminating the ebbs and flows in life.
Her recent work is a collection of abstracted landscapes, that formally sit somewhere between painting and sculpture. The works have 2-dimensional elements combined with sculptural features. Cucurullo examines the mysterious 3-dimensional shapes formed by bird murmurations. She then dissects and compresses those forms onto individual planes of plexiglass using ink. These stand alone or overlay oil painted landscapes and topographies, to create cast shadows which move subtly in tandem with the viewers own movements.
Her creative process mirrors her concept: the free, expressive way she applies oil paint is balanced by the analytical challenge of deconstructing and translating 3D bird formations into flat, 2D compositions. Even in its form, the work explores contrast and balance.
“I am a conceptual artist who works with a wide range of different media – including painting, drawing, installation, photography, video, and mixed media – all to address concepts of cycles in nature. Within these seemingly predictable cycles, often lie uncertainty and chaos. To communicate the relationship and balance between what is constant and what is unpredictable, I use abstracted, natural imagery. Abstracted landscapes provide a comfort in recognition, while simultaneously stirring up discomfort in that which cannot be recognized or understood. My work strives to invite viewers to enter a liminal space, to oscillate between knowing and unknowing, and to recognize that we are intrinsically a part of the ebb and flow of nature – and that in that knowing – there is comfort.”
-Lybi Cucurullo
https://www.brenau.edu/news/lybi-cucurullo-joins-brenau-as-gallery-director/
https://www.athica.org/updates/lybi-cucurullo/
https://www.athenscine.com/exhibit
