MARNA SHOPOFF

JONATHAN FERRARA GALLERY is proud to announce Color Correction, an exhibition of Indianapolis-based artist Marna Shopoff. For her second solo exhibition at the gallery, Shopoff unveils her latest series of large-scale geometric abstract paintings. Employing oil, acrylic gouache and ink on canvas or linen, the artist builds coats of intensely hued pigments and then deconstructs the surface; creating translucent layers which evoke space and dimension. The strong line in these works are prismatic and fractal, denoting references to architecture and mathematics. The exhibition will be on view in the main gallery 1 February – 25 March with First Saturday Gallery Openings on 4 February and 4 March from 6-9pm.

Shopoff says of the exhibition . . .

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.  Color Correction is a visual expression of how experience and memory uniquely intertwine. 

Color is energy.  It is a way to reflect my view of the world and to connect the visual with the emotional.  Blending contemporary and classical approaches to painting and composition, I examine how human experience, place and personal memory affect my perception of self.  I am interested in how we interpret and interact with the spaces that surround us.  What memories or feelings do these places spark and what sort of energy do they project? 

I view the world in a particular way because of the context in which I have experienced it: the architecture, spatial politics, personal relationships and intimate places.  Like so, I use color to express a certain mood or idea, and ultimately as an interpretation of the world around me.  I use abstraction as a way to move through and define the two-dimensional surface.  Perspective, saturation 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.

As an artist, I investigate whether someone can access and experience a new view of the world through my work and how I can create a new space using my art.  My work explores whether, through art, we can share our individual perceptions.