Artist Profile: Grace Markman

I am painting the body as vehicle, simple forms with wheels or wings.  These forms often appear inflated as with inhaled breath.  The background encases these forms in a floating ungrounded space.  These car, train, rocketand plane-like forms imply movement yet their energy is still, reflective and contemplative.  These forms are single, twinned or shadowed, traveling someway somewhere.

Oil paint and the movement of brushstrokes play an active role in the development of my imagery and composition.  Forms move through the paint and are transformed by the process.  I use sandpaper to erase, building up layers of color that contribute to the final form.  It is both an additive and subtractive process that takes many months.   I draw  using watercolor to discover new imagery and often draw while painting to complete a composition.   My work is often serial with forms recurring and reconfigured in new work. Color is vital for me; I visualize color as specific form.  My paintings utilize large shapes in a small-scale format.

I was born in Paterson New Jersey.  My B.A. in Studio Art is from Fordham University and I hold an M.F.A. in painting from Bard College. I have exhibited my work for over twenty years in numerous groups shows both upstate and in New York City.  I have been awarded artist residencies at Yaddo, Blue Mountain Center and Byrdcliffe.   My drawings were included in “ Winter Selections 2001” at The Drawing Center.  I had my first one person show in New York City, “Squirm”,  in the Spring of 2003 at Holland Tunnel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  My second  solo show at Holland Tunnel, “Rainbow Twist”, was in the Fall of 2005.  My home and studio are in Brooklyn.

Float
Launch
Orange Car
Pink Plane
Plane and Rocket