Marianne KolbUnruff led

October 20 – November 30, 2014

Cover: Still Leading39.5" x 31.5" mixed media on canvas $7,000

New Pa in t ings by

Marianne KolbUnruff led

October 20– November 30

OOppeenn iinngg RReecceepp tt iioonn

F i r s t Thu r sday

November 4 6–9 PM

SGFA

SUE GRE ENWOOD F IN E ART

330 north coast hwy laguna beach, ca 92651 949.494.0669 suegreenwoodfineart.com

Emergence 47" x 38" mixed media on canvas$10,000

Black over Blue44" x 30" mixed media on canvas$7,500

Unruffled47" x 38" mixed media on canvas$10,000

Delft Morning20" x 16" mixed media on board $3,500

The Cardinal44" x 30" mixed media on canvas $7,500

Watching and Waiting47" x 38" mixed media on canvas $10,000

THE SOLITARY FIGURES OF MARIANNE KOLB

When Marianne Kolb was in her early twenties, living in Switzerland, and working in business,she came across Franz Kafka's MMeettaammoorrpphhoossiiss, a book that exerted pivotal influence on theyoung woman. Marianne had grown up on a farm in an isolated Alpine village near Bern. Her

family had no use for her artistic talent and, she recalls that she felt some kind of kinship with Gregor, anawkward young man, son of a harsh father, employee of an abusive boss, who was turned into a mon-strous insect. Marianne knew it was time to leave and she travelled across the ocean and the continent toland in San Francisco, where she studied jewelry and worked as a goldsmith but soon realized, that shereally wanted to be a painter. She proceeded to study at the California College of Arts and Crafts (now theCalifornia College of the Arts) with two inspiring teachers, Leigh Hyams and Fred Reichman.

Marianne Kolb does not use ordinary paint, but takes powdered pigment which she mixes with water andapplies with her fingers, house-brushes and a large stainless steel knife to the canvas. She usually usesan undercoat of red or orange, which in some pictures is allowed to emerge from the layers of paint.Finally she applies a shiny varnish, resulting in the smooth surfaces of her paintings. Her personal imagery,the distortion of the faces, derives from direct observation of individuals transmuted by her own feelingswhich become fully known to her during the painting process.

Her painting bears some relationship to work by Bay Area Figure painters and sculptors. We think of theisolated human figures, asserting their presence in Nathan Oliveira's paintings and Stephen de Staebler'sbodies which are commanding despite being broken. The feeling of alienation and estrangement of thehuman is also the essence of Antonioni's films and of the tragic monosyllabic poetry by Paul Celan, whosework was an inspiration for Kolb. Kolb's figures, often androgynous, stand on thin legs and against luminousbackgrounds. Their garments, at times translucent, at times opaque are often blurred, but strong in coloration, thefaces express melancholy, anxiety, even despair. These paintings represent a legacy of Northern Europeanpainting-–Munch, Beckmann, Bacon, and Baselitz are artists that come to mind.

– Peter Selz

Reminisence No. 347" x 38" mixed media on canvas $10,000