"Première Couche" | Marna Shopoff

Jonathan Ferrara Gallery

400A Julia Street

October 3, 2018 - October 26, 2018

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Shattered

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Sable and Shift

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Roses

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Noir

markandtransparency.artsdistrictneworleans

Mark and Transparency

lightonlight.artsdistricneworleans

Light on Light

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Layer and Planes

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Gravity

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Flight

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Envelope

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Arrow

Press Release

STATEMENT | | |

What happens when we set aside the need to represent what we see and instead respond with how we feel?  To me, life is fragmented and layered, a mosaic of experiences interwoven with reflection and intuition: the places we visit, the homes we live in, the countries we explore – each overlapping and influencing one another.  Première Couche (first layer) is a visual expression of how experience and memory affect my connection to self, and how the response to change shifts my identity.

Using gray-scale, geometric abstract paintings, I explore the concept of spatial identity, translating how place and experience uniquely intertwine.  I examine how human experience, place and personal memory affect my perception of self.  

Having previously used vibrant color as a hallmark of exploration, these newest, monochromatic works, are inspired by my recent transition into motherhood, a challenge that made me question the loss of my previous identity while influencing the more subdued palette.Blending contemporary and classical approaches to painting and composition, I use the oil-painting technique of Grisaille to express the idea of a sketch, the mood of a beginning and an entrance into someplace new – the first layer, and abstraction as a way to move through and define the two-dimensional surface. Perspective and transparency, together with techniques of glazing and layering, create an illusion of depth and space, while visually conveying the fusion of memories and experiences.

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