Verena Marmion 'Closed Pose' Exhibition

CLOSED POSE Expressive figurative watercolours

by Verena Marmion

19 FEBRUARY- 3 MARCH 2021 KENT STREET GALLERY

Preface Two of the main ways to characterise the poses of a life drawing model are 'open' and 'closed'. Open is where the model is bold, extroverted and direct; engaged in their surroundings. In closed pose the model tends to be hunched with limbs bent or wrapped about the body. Closed poses present an inwardly contemplative demeanour, imbued with depth and intrigue.

During figure drawing sessions, the models generally cycle through the same 'classic poses' that they have been using to please artists for centuries. As tropes; these static, contrived and open poses bore me. It is the candid, less conventional moments of natural movement and posture that interest me as an artist. In an ontological exploration, the figures in this series are simply 'being' rather than 'existing to be viewed'.

Verena Marmion, Nude, 2019, Watercolour

Foreword Gender and art in the early 20th century was a subject of struggle for women artists. In 1930, Virginia Woolf writing in the Foreword for her sister, Vanessa Bell’s solo exhibition in London, reflected her frustration at the constrained societal perceptions towards women’s creativity as being that of innocence and domesticity. Moving forward 90 years, women and art in the 21st century remains to be comprehensively defined and taking part along this path of wonder is Verena Marmion. This exhibition reflects her contribution and the creative freedom that women artists enjoy in our times.

Verena, an artist, a mother, a teacher, a spouse and an academic confidently sees art through her multiple identities – free from the stereotypes of each and allows each identity to encompass and enrich her experiences as an artist researcher. The women in the paintings in this exhibition are nude, but their nakedness is not simply a statement. It shows us they are the figures of living women in their selfreflective moments – feminine with sensitivity, strength, sensuality and with a capacity for complexity and confidence, in their closed poses. These expressive messages are conveyed free from underlying societal expectations and through Verena’s paintings they simply act as invitations to viewers to explore and to connect with the emotions of the painter, and together to construct further the discourse of gender and art in the 21st century.

Chia-Mei Jane Coughlan PhD. Cambridge; MEd. UWA December 2020, W.A.

Verena Marmion Verena Marmion is a Melbourne-born artist who has worked in Western Australia since 2010, both as an artist and art teacher. Her art is primarily of figures and portraits. Underlying her work is a fascination in movement, body language, gender and feminine identity.

Verena has studied a Bachelor Fine Art, Diploma of Psychology, Graduate Diploma in Art Therapy and a Masters in Teaching Visual Art. She is currently enrolled in the University of Western Australia PhD Program. Her area of research is developing an experiential research method for creating artwork inspired by historical women watercolourists.

Verena Marmion, Nude, 2020, Watercolour

Verena Marmion, Nude, 2019, Watercolour

Verena Marmion, Nude, 2019, Watercolour

Verena Marmion, Nude, 2019, Watercolour

Verena Marmion, Nude, 2021, Watercolour

Verena Marmion, Nude, 2021, Watercolour on tinted paper

Verena Marmion, Nude, 2020, Watercolour

Verena Marmion, Nude, 2019, Watercolour on tinted paper

Verena Marmion, Nude, 2019, Mixed media on tinted paper

Verena Marmion, Nude, 2020, Watercolour

Verena Marmion, Nude, 2021, Watercolour

Closed Pose Exhibition 19th FEBRUARY- 3rd MARCH 2021 KENT STREET GALLERY 12 KENT STREET East Victoria Park Gallery Hours: Monday 10.00am - 2.30pm, Tuesday - Friday 10.00am - 4.00pm *Saturday 20th February 1.00 - 4.00pm, artist talk 2.00pm