Colleen Cunningham: Layers of Consciousness
Colleen Cunningham is a Brooklyn-based artist working primarily in handmade paper collage. Her intricate, layered compositions blur the boundaries between chaos and cohesion, inviting close scrutiny and sustained attention. Drawing from a process rooted in intuition and accumulation, her works feel like waking dreams—psychedelic explorations where disparate images and ideas converge into unexpectedly harmonious wholes. Cunningham holds a BFA from Pratt Institute and an MFA from the University at Buffalo, and has exhibited widely in New York, including at the Islip Art Museum, Field Projects, and the NARS Foundation.
How did your creative journey begin?
My first creative expression was building structures and towers with old, wooden building blocks we had when I was little. My mom was a self-taught artist, but never identified herself as one. She was always creating assemblages and vignettes around the house and in our garden and yard. Her ability to use whatever she had handy or could forage definitely inspired and influenced me throughout my childhood. I started collaging and making assemblages as a tween and was also inspired by my older sister and her plastered bedroom walls. I eventually decided to go to art school in my 20's after realizing all I wanted to do was make things with my hands. I didn't think of it as a career choice, but more a way to explore and discover that part of myself.
Can you talk about your relationship to paper as a material—what does it allow you to do that other mediums might not?
I've always been an avid reader and have collected books and magazines since I can remember. I love the smell of used book stores and the feel of different types of paper. I was a photo major and started making collages to show at critiques after running out of money to buy film and photo paper. Once I started collaging, I never looked back. I grabbed magazines and books from the $1 bin at the Strand and foraged from stoops and recycling bins. People around me started giving me their old books and magazines. Collage is a very diplomatic medium in that regard- it is easy to find materials, even with very little money. I enjoy the act of cutting and the piles that accumulate. It is therapeutic and meditative. Paper also gives me the ability to incorporate a vast amount of subject matter- something I wasn't able to achieve with photography on a limited budget. I can build layers upon layers of color and depth.
What artists or movements have influenced your approach to collage?
Wangechi Mutu was the first artist who really blew my mind. Art school mostly focused on Dada, but her work is contemporary and so much more vibrant and alive. She didn't have one set style or medium, it seemed like each work was a new exploration. Her retrospective at the New Museum a couple years ago was absolutely incredible. I also love the work of Jess Collins. It is baroque, psychedelic and fun.
What does a typical day in the studio look like for you, and how has your art practice grown or changed?
I have always had a regular job, even through college, so studio time is squeezed in around that. I used to work in the studio late into the night out of necessity, and I began to assume that those were my most creative hours. In recent years I have started collaging in the daylight hours when I can and it has been refreshing. My studio is in my apartment, so I try to get some time in every day, even if it is only thumbing through books or making cuttings for an hour or two. The times I was lucky enough to have a separate studio to work in I found I would stay for longer but more time would pass between sessions. It's nice to be able to walk over to my work space any time I want and pop in/out quickly. My practice has grown into a daily routine that is more about the time spent making than the final work.
What role does community, whether artists, curators, or viewers, play in your practice?
I regularly visit galleries, museums and artist studios. I thrive off of the culture and creative energy of NYC and my community of artist/maker friends. I am constantly seeking inspiration. That being said, my practice is very personal and something I do for my mental health and fulfillment, so I struggle with promoting it or connecting with a larger audience. I am slightly mortified even doing this interview.
How has social media impacted your work?
I was on Instagram, but deleted it as I don't want to support the owner. I don't think it was impacting my work, but I definitely saw the rise of AI and the proliferation of art that was more suited to the format and easily digestible. Intricate, detailed handmade work gets lost in the tiny square. I'm on Bluesky now, trying not to give up on social media altogether as I know it is important to stay informed and connected.
Many of your collages bring together disparate subjects—do certain themes or motifs recur in your work, even across different series?
One of the most unique and sometimes challenging aspects of collage is that you are limited by the materials you have access to. My work tends to follow the thread of the books I have at the time. I make certain aesthetic choices, but the subject matter is often determined by what I have been given or found. A friend gave me 100 copies of national geographic three years ago and I'm still cutting through them. I occasionally splurge on a book I really want, usually nature or animals. I don't start with a predetermined theme, but I do try to choose images that can have a conversation with each other. It's hard to explain, but they will just fit. I try to be sensitive to the images I am working with and breathe new life into them. A series will sometimes emerge from the same source materials that I am using over time.
Bluesky: @ccunninghamart.bsky.social
Website: https://colleencunningham.org
Published on July 25, 2025