OM.2024.053 - Marsha Balian - USA
OM.2024.053 - Marsha Balian - 'Polyglot' - 8 x 8 inches - collage on panel - Visual Poetry and Color
Bio
Marsha Balian admits to difficulty following instructions (unless she really has to). She is self-taught and sometimes invents her own techniques. Her work has a strong narrative quality and incorporates found materials often combined with her own drawing and painting. Since invention doesn't require strict adherence to the rules, her art avoid what might be literal and attempts to engage the imagination of the viewer. Humor is never far behind.
Her work has been shown throughout the Bay Area of California, many parts of the country and internationally. Besides having work in hospitals and a library, she has been featured in several publications including Photo Trouvee Magazine, Woven Tale Press, Oakland Magazine, and West Marin Review. It was also included in "Collage by Women: 50 Women College Artist of the World", a book published in Spain that has enjoyed huge international success.
Statement
I am inspired by what others throw away. Random pieces of paper, scraps of fabric, and remnants of someone else's past find a new home in my work. It's like scavenger hunts where almost anything that strikes the eye can resemble alchemy for creating gold. Collage, for me, is the perfect medium for playing with a sense of mystery, or exploring my own and other's stories, for invention, for inserting something humorous. Ultimately, I hope to invite the viewer to have their own experience in viewing my art.
The work here made use of many disparate elements including a page from an antique German textbook, a found antique photograph, other found papers and acrylic and oil paint. Because there are materials reflecting other countries and languages, I titled it "Polyglot”.
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