Marsha Kazarinov Owett

THE PROCCES OF DEFACING

My paintings are all-over compositions defined by a bright palette infused with vibrancy and emotion. A form of action painting inspired by Abstract Expressionism, my method involves building up layers of paint and newsprint on wood panels, and then excavating those layers with an electric sander. The spontaneity of sanding produces unexpected results in each painting. My process is a mix of intuition and response to recognizable forms and current events; as I work into the panel, images and narratives start to reveal themselves to me—from monsters, butterflies to weather torn landscape. This excavation seems to set my subjects free.

TORNADOS, 2011-2012

Like many of us, I am drawn to live disaster coverage on the news. Last summer there were endless broadcasts of tornadoes and their wake of devastation. The fly over footage effected me particularly.  The defined path of destruction they carved into the landscape seemed like nature’s sad version of an action painting. Heart wrenching scenes of people finding crumpled memories, photos in the rubbish, and the flag…there is always a surviving flag at the end of every broadcast.

OTHER WORKS