The Wasp in the Garden Marilla Palmer
On the Cover: "The Gardener's Surprise
"The Wasp In The Garden" Marilla Palmer January 4th - February 10th
"The Wasp in the Garden," 2017 Watercolor, fabric, wasp paper, spores, pressed foliage on Fabriano paper, 30 x 40 in.
The wasp is the artist in the garden. Wasps need a place to do their work. All they really want to do is sculpt and be left alone. They won’t sting unless they have to. They invented paper, inspiring the Chinese to do the same centuries ago. Brilliant, we’re indebted. The wasp made paper is used to create unique and site specific architectural marvels in chiaroscuro swirling patterns. Wasps are sensitive to the environment. They don’t wait for an invitation. They move in, create beauty and nurture their babies. They have a clear focus. They drink floral nectar while they inadvertently pollinate our gardens. We need them more than they need us. They’re selfcentered. At the end of the season their creations are abandoned, so we can pick them up, and be inspired. They don’t go back, they start again. Art making is how I make sense of the world, and gardening is how I connect to it. I “cultivate my garden” so I can loose myself in nature, like a wasp, with clear focus. I create art to get lost in my imagination. Time isn’t stable in the garden or in the studio. Time in the garden is at a snails pace in the winter, delayed gratification in the spring, the summer buzzes, the fall is too fast. I always need more time in the studio but inspiration comes when time disappears. I love the necessity of needing to plant, nurture and harvest to make my work. There’s a level of unpredictability with growing and then pressing the plants, and an impossible delicacy working with them. Detail is essential, if you care to look you will find a web, a stitch, a petal, a wing. The garden is a refuge, it’s good to go outdoors. Let’s cultivate our gardens.
- Marilla Palmer
"Dining on Moonlight," 2017 Watercolor, pressed foliage, feathers, sparkle paper on Lanaquarelle, 41 x 30 in.
"The River of Restoration," 2017 Watercolor, pressed foliage, spores, wasp wings, laser cut metal, sparkle paper on Lanaquarelle, 41 x 30 in.
"Blue Cactus, Blue Violets," 2017 Watercolor, silk, dragonfly wings, pressed foliage on Arches, 30 x 22 in.
"Fascinated by the Shape," 2017 Watercolor, silk, sequins, dragonfly wings, pressed foliage on Arches, 30 x 22 in.
"The Blue Bowl," 2017 Watercolor, pressed foliage, fabric, sequins on Arches paper, 22 x 15 in.
"Aspiring to Greatness," 2017 Watercolor, fabric, stitching, pressed foliage, glitter on Arches paper, 22 x 15 in.
"The Gardener's Surprise," 2017 Watercolor, pressed foliage, stitching on Arches paper, 15 x 22 in.
"The Reds are Reaching Out," 2017 Watercolor, fabric, stitching, pressed foliage, glitter on Arches paper, 15 x 22 in.
"Wasp Couture," 2017 Wasp nest paper, mulberry paper, acrylic, wire, 32 x 17 x 10 in.
"I Am Nature," 2017 Wasp nest, foliage, mannequin, monifilament, 72 x 22 x 19 in.
"Wasp Waist Vase," 2017 Wasp nest, mullberry paper, acrylic, wire silk, sequin, flower, 13 x 8 x 3 in.
"Wasp Venus," 2017 Wasp paper, mulberry paper, acrylic, 6 x 3.5 x 5 in.
"The Blue Wasp," 2017 Wasp nest, sequins, fabric, acrylic, mulberry paper, 6 x 3 x 2 in.
"Feather and Shell," 2017 Wasp nest, mulberry paper, acrylic, handblown glass, flowers, snail shell, feathers, 5 x 4 x 4 in.
MARILLA PALMER SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2017 2016 2014 2013 2012 2010 2008 2005 2002 1998 1997 1994 1985
Darren Winston Bookseller, Sharon, CT Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, NY Kathryn Markel, Bridgehampton, NY Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, NY Argazzi Art Project Room, Lakeville, CT Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, NY Gallery Egan, Morristown, NJ Fringe Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA Pierogi, Brooklyn, NY Optimism Reigns and Rains Pierogi, Brooklyn, NY Robert V Fullerton Museum, San Bernadino, CA PPOW, New York, NY, Project Room Deven Golden Fine art, New York, NY Christopher Grimes, Los Angeles, CA Ted Greenwald Gallery, New York, NY
2013 The George Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Kathryn Markel Fine Art, NYC The George Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA 2012 The George Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Kathryn Markel Fine Arts DownStreet Art, N Adams, Mass WG Gallery, Brooklyn, NY 2010 Kathryn Markel Fine Art New York, NY 2009 Jancar Gallery, Los Angeles, CA The Drake Hotel, Toronto, Canada 2007 One Eye Pug: RM 308, New York, NY 2006 Hampden Galleries at U Mass, Amherst, Mass McKenzie Fine Art, New York, NY The Shore Institute of Contemporary Art, Long Beach, 2004 Pierogi, Bklyn 2003 Carlsbad Museum and Art Center, Carlsbad, NM
New York Academy of Sciences, NY The Work Space, NY Jeffrey Coploff Gallery, NY Im n Il Gallery, NY SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2002 Brooklyn Academy of Music, NY Wythe Studio, NY 2016 Kathryn Markel Fine Art, curated by Marilla Palmer Bucheon Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2015 Ober Gallery, Kent, CT 2000 Post Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Giroux Gallery, Great Barrington, MA Adam Baumgold Fine Art, New York, NY 2014 Pierogi Gallery Brooklyn, NY Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum, San Bernadine CA Fowler-Kellogg Art Center, Chautaqua NY Grand Central Arts Center, Cal State, Santa Ana, CA Kathryn Markel Fine Art, Bridgehampton, NY
1998 Deven Golden Fine Art, NewYork, NY Second Street Gallery, Chalottesville, Va Cal State Fullerton, Fullerton, CA Kingsboro College Gallery, Bklyn, NY 1997 Mary Barone Gallery, New York. NY Williamsburg Art & Historical Society The Brooklyn Museum, Bklyn, NY Gasworks, London, England James Graham & Sons, New York, NY 1996 Bronwyn Keenan Gallery, New York, NY Freedman Gallery, Redding, PA 1995 The Dahn Gallery, New York, NY Christinerose Gallery, NewYork, NY Feldman Gallery, New York, NY Curt Marcus Gallery, New York, NY Arena, Brooklyn, NY 1994 Pierogi 2000, NY Flamingo East, New York, NY Four Walls, Bklyn, NY PPOW, New York, NY Arabesque 1993 Trial Balloon, New York, NY White Columns, New York, NY 1992 Barbara Braathen Gallery, New York, NY Four Walls, Brooklyn, New York Arthur Roger Gallery, New York, NY Pino Molica Gallery, Rome, Italy Artists Space, New York, NY
1986 Palladium, New York, NY 1985 Jay Gorney Modern Art , New York, NY Pyramid Club Gallery, New York, NY Ted Greenwald Gallery, New York, NY 1984 Ted Greenwald Gallery, New York, NY 1983 Aldrich Musuem, Ridgefield CT 1982 PS1, New York, NY