River Wintermantel
Letters Unsent, 8" x 8", print 2/5
Letters Unsent, 8" x 8", print 3/5
Letters Unsent, 8" x 8", print 4/5
Letters Unsent, 8" x 8", print 5/5
Shackled by Lust, 24" x 36", oil, acrylic, and paint market on canvas
Untitled, 38" x 75", thrifted fabric, embroidery
Ideal Family, 4" x 6", cross stitch
Take a Slice, 10" x 10", screen print
Bio
River Wintermantel is an artist who resides in both Pittsburgh and Lancaster, PA. While he explores all mediums freely, he works primarily with fabric. Wintermantel’s work is a self-reflection of childhood memories, identity, and life as a trans person. He began his professional art career as a student at the Columbiana County Career and Technical Center in Lisbon OH, where he obtained 3 Adobe certificates. He is currently a BFA candidate at the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design building his portfolio.
Artist Statement
My work focuses on my life and how I experience it, from the little moments we consider boring, like a painting of a billboard on the side of the street, to more intricate expressions of my emotions and identity. Since life moves so fast, I take the time to slow things down and portray my life frame-by-frame. Because my work deals so closely with my life and my emotions, I use anything I can get my hands on: yarn, cardboard, thrift-store fabric, items that once held meaning to others that can be repurposed into art with meaning for me.
As a transgender artist whose voice is actively being erased, showcasing every aspect of my life and my emotions is a driving factor in my work. Exploring the topic of my life, both as plainly and as extravagantly as I can, makes it a process of self growth, exploration, and a diary of memories that can be held onto until the end of time.