OM.2024.061 - Emily Marbach- UK

OM.2024.061 - Emily Marbach- UK - ALMOST THERE - collage on panel - 8 x 8 inches - Visual Poetry and Color

Artist Statement 

 Politics is very much on my mind these days. As an American who made her home in London decades ago, I have two elections coming up very soon. One is an expected win, the only question is how big of a majority will they get. The other has democracy hanging in the balance, as far as I can tell, and many voters picking single issues to base their vote on instead of the big one. For a moment, as I made this collage, I chose to be a single issue voter.

   Since the supreme court decision in Dobbs, women and other people who can get pregnant in "red states", are adjusting to the new normal of abortion being effectively illegal. I have been imagining all sorts of ways that women could leave their state to be rid of an unwanted embryo or to expel a damaged fetus that could harm the mother.
   In this collage, the gallant partner is rowing the woman to a safe harbour. The picture's background evokes sky and sea (both blue) but it's also an internal view into the woman's body with cells bouncing off each other, multiplying and growing.
    Their row boat, the Dark Willow, as I've named her, seems like it could be a code name for a conservative plan to disempower people beginning with forced motherhood. It also evokes for me, the story of the finding of Moses by Pharaoh's daughter in Bible. That being a story of what one mother, who couldn't keep her child, chose to do, the risk she chose to take. My collage shows the risk this man has chosen to take to help the woman determine her future. And her optimism, that responsible and compassionate doctors wait for her close to the shore.

BIO 

Emily Marbach is a figurative and frequently political collagist based in London, renowned for her thought-provoking artwork that explores societal themes. With a strong emphasis on narrative

storytelling, her work has garnered attention both locally and internationally.

Exhibitions ; Recognitions

In November 2023 Emily had a solo sold-out exhibition in aid of the charity Every Mother Counts

Exhibited and sold paintings and collage at The Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions for two consecutive years

Represented by for a few years by Long&Ryle, a prestigious art gallery, London

In 2022 Emily was chosen for a residency through Kolaj Magazine which culminated in a folklore exhibition in Sanquhar, Scotland then travelling to Knoxville, TN in 2023.

First solo exhibition at Slash Arts Gallery near King’s Cross, London (May 2022), exclusively featuring collages

Contribution to "Allegories, Renditions, and A Small Nation of Women" at Yale University Divinity School

Featured artist in Contemporary Collage Magazine

Interviewed on the Chilean podcast Art Notes (on Spotify)

Exhibited at the Italian Collage Collection’s Biennial exhibition and book in Bari

Participation in the Hidden Identity Project’s Sky of Stars Exhibition at the Bulgarian Embassy’s gallery (September 2021)

Emily’s collages have been included in virtual exhibitions due Covid through Kunsthaus Rozig and The Storytelling Postcard.

Featured in exhibitions alongside shortlisted winners of the Ashurst Prize (May 2016)

• She had several works in the Vayo Gallery in Rochester, NY including her first 3D piece.

• April 2024, FaiV Officina di Collage Dreaming Architecture group exhibition

• May 2024, 3D piece in The Kaos Festival summer exhibition in Kranj, Slovenia.

Publications & Artistic Projects

Published Collage Haggadah in February 2021, featuring over Eighty figurative collages and a new translation of the text by the artist

Artist talk through the Jewish Art Salon and at Jewish Book Week at King’s Place (February 2021, February 2022)

Reviewed in print publications and online such as Hey Alma and the Jewish Chronicle

Contributed to books including Collage Care and Traditions by Laurie Kanyer, 

Folklore of the Upper Nithsdale and Collage Your Life and Kolaj Magazine, showcasing her influence within the collage community.

Emily has finished working on a series of 29 collages in response to Proverbs 31, reflecting on themes of strong and capable womanhood.

She has a piece in the May 2024 issue of Why Collage.

Almost There (mixed media on birch cradle) acceptance to International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction collection

Current Projects

Marbach is collaborating on a book inspired by The Ethics of the Fathers.

Community Engagement & Interests

In addition to her artistic pursuits, Emily Marbach is actively engaged in her community. She volunteers as an elementary school art and English teacher, nurturing creativity in young minds. Outside of her artistic endeavours, she enjoys reading novels, walking in her local parks, baking sourdough bread, and practicing yoga, finding inspiration in these activities for her creative work. Emily is also a founding member of the London Collage Collective, demonstrating her dedication to fostering artistic communities and promoting collaboration among fellow artists.