Lorna Marsh, Abstract Expressionist Contemporary Modernist South African Painting Lorna Marsh, 2015

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Lorna Marsh (1949-2022) Acrylic on Paper (mixed media) Hand signed and dated Chairs, Table, and Figure 2015 Original masterpiece by … Read more Lorna Marsh (1949-2022) Acrylic on Paper (mixed media) Hand signed and dated Chairs, Table, and Figure 2015 Original masterpiece by Lorna Marsh. Created with acrylic and ink wash on paper, this dynamic piece is a testament to Marsh's distinctive artistic vision. Lorna Marsh (1949-2022) was a pioneering artist from Cape Town, South Africa, renowned as one of the foremost female artists of her era. Influenced by her studies at the Royal Academy and the Art Institute in Chicago, Marsh's work reflects a blend of global perspectives. Her art, inspired by German Expressionism and Surrealism, explores themes of the human-animal relationship and nature through intricate lines and textured surfaces. Marsh's exhibitions spanned South America, Spain, the USA, and South Africa, with her pieces showcased in corporate and private collections worldwide. Lorna Marsh was born in Cape Town, South Africa (1949-2022). Lorna Marsh is considered one of the most innovative female artists of our time. Her early art instruction included courses with visiting professors from the Royal Academy and she also attended the Art Institute in Chicago. Marsh’s work is most closely aligned with German Expressionism and Surrealism. She has a love of line, which can be seen, in almost all her work. The surfaces are complex, often applied directly by hand, using a wide variety of media. Having lived on three continents, her work has been shaped by many influences, but primarily by the human condition, animals, cartoons, which is the focus of many of her paintings. Her figures sometimes depict man’s interaction with the animal world and nature in illuminating ways. Marsh's master work often conveys dysfunctional humans with images of Africa’s large predators animals - underscoring the contrast between the dignity of nature and the self-destructive nature of man - A statement also that opposes Disney’s charming animal characters and idealistic story telling. Lorna's work also was known for never relying on repetition - each one of her series were new and distinct. Lorna Marsh presence, like her canvases, was larger than life. In her youth she was a stage actress and model. Lorna Marsh was a keen thinker and delighted in testing boundaries, which she reflected in her art. Internationally celebrated, her works were often confrontational and explored such themes as mankind’s destructive relationship with nature. Initially, Marsh was exposed to traditional master painters of the English landscape, Constable and Gainesborough. . While Marsh's artistic vision may be grounded in her classical training and her esteem for twentieth century visionaries, she has evolved a unique style that transcends standard interpretative mechanisms. Marsh appeals to the universal language of human beings. Marsh's figurative expressionist style, with its roots in German Expressionist art and European Surrealist art, is also informed by the work of Robert Motherwell, Cy Twombly, and Antonio Tapies. Her work​ blends symbolism, surrealism, and expressionism to create fresh images, which reflect upon the human condition. Her images are timeless.In much of her work, such as in the Eve series, the human face appears partially or even fully expunged, heightening the sense of universality through the body. The female nudes exhibit interior anguish and turmoil and display the enormous toll of their difficult struggle. Each figure is distorted for peak emotional impact and dramatic effect. The extraordinary animal paintings, largely drawn from her native South Africa, are imbued with a hallucinatory intensity and ferocity. She convincingly conveys the tension of movement and countermovement of African herd animals such as wild dogs, lions, hyenas, and baboons who forage for food and survive by traveling in packs. These safari animals, surrounded with abstract swirls, becoming a part of the painterly background of barren landscape. Marsh is especially attracted to these animals because of their endurance from ancient times, their freedom, and their ability to withstand severely discordant conditions. Marsh’s work is most closely aligned with German Expressionism and Surrealism. Lorna Robertson Marsh work has been exhibited throughout the world, in solo shows in South America, Spain, the USA and South Africa and in- group shows in Italy and the USA. Her work is in corporate and private collections, most notably in Germany where she has a strong following, Canada, the USA and in South America. Including many important solo shows at the Florida Museum of Hispanic and Latin American Art, Miami, Florida, the Jacobo Borges Museum, Caracas, Venezuela, the Real Monastery of Santa Maria de la Valldigna Fundació Jaume II el Just, Valencia, Spain, the João Ferreira Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa, the Aldo Castillo Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, the Shanghai Art Fair, among many others. Lorna Marsh has been represented by the Aldo Castillo Gallery since 2000. SHe has been included in numerous shows including Homage To Andy Warhol at Aldo Castillo Gallery. See less