Mara Held
Artist Statement:
Painted in egg tempera on linen over panel. My work is about making visual, the resonances in the unseeable and deciphering the ways image invents itself through an intricate composite of layers and animated spatial relationships, making visual, the resonances in the unseeable. Sometimes, but not always inspired by the frequencies in the natural world.The light and life in the egg are integral to this process along with the process. Time plays a major role in the works unfolding and emergence of the imagery. Egg tempera is a slow labor-intensive process. The work is drawn, painted, cut, scraped, repainted, edited and so forth— in constant dialogue with the painting to explore the tension and flow in the movement of energies both knowable and unknowable.
Artist Biography:
Mara Held (b. 1954) is a native of New York City. Currently living in the Catskills, Held’s work references topography and the timbre of the physical world. Extensive travel and study of diverse cultures has deeply impacted Held’s work. Visiting Italy often, Held was first introduced to egg tempera through early Italian Renaissance Art. Enamored by the light inherent in the medium, she made it her practice. Solo exhibitions include, Gary Snyder Gallery, NY, McClain Gallery, Houston, Seven Sisters, Houston, Robert Pardo, Milan, Italy. Recent reviews include New York Times and a feature in Elle Décor Magazine. Her work is collected by museums both abroad and in the US, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC.
AAA:
Member Since: 2003
