Anne Marchand: Recent Work

These new paintings grow out of an earlier series that was inspired by photographs of galaxies and nebulae seen through the Hubble telescope. The images suggested a connection between deep space and inner space of the human body - it is all the same energy in the macrocosm and the microcosm.

The recent paintings' larger scale allows for experimenting freely with poured paint, along with using combs and scrapers. In the act of painting, a rush of receptivity has liberated the intellect from preconceived forms. Out of this process emerged a sense of natural forces and of topography, revealing themselves in the jetties, swirls and rivulets of paint. Other materials, such as tree bark, glass beads, sand, and Indian silks are layered in the paint, connecting the work both to nature and to other cultures.

The paintings' abstract appearance reflects a range of perspective: images of deep space, views from airplanes and automobiles, perceptions of natural and man-made textures and patterns, along with their emotional resonances, all distilled together. During the process of painting a new insight is released, which the artist relates to the poet Garcia Lorca's vision of duende, the soulful response to a work of art, infused with earthiness, the irrationality, and existential vulnerability.

There is a geometry underpinning the paintings, with a work's ground initially marked with a pencil, marker, or thread, breaking it into divisions. At times the surface is inscribed intuitively, after the paint is poured. Color is indispensable in achieving the emotional quality in the work. In the newest paintings, patterns are stenciled on the surface or in the printed fabrics that are overlaid with translucent paint.

The artist's intention is to actualize beauty and joy in the tangible form of a painting. These works invite the visual vibration in the eye of the viewer, along with their sense of wonder, introspection, and imagination

-Anne Marchand