Marna Shopoff is a visual artist with an emphasis on abstract painting and intuitive drawing. Interested in the concepts of design and spatial relationships, her work explores the idea of perception, place identity, and visual memory. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and Master of Fine Arts degree from Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis, IN. She has led panel discussions on abstract learning and haptic drawing at the Foundations in Art Theory and Education Conference (US) and the International Drawing and Cognition Symposium (UK). Marna is the recipient of various honors and awards, including The Individual Artist Award | Indiana Arts Commission, the Mildred Darby Menz Award, and the Stutz Resident Artist Award. She has taken part in artist residencies at locations across the US and abroad, including the Vermont Studio Center (VT); Teton Artlab (WY); Taliesin, The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture (WI); The International School of Painting, Drawing and Sculpture (Italy); and Leveld Art Centre (Norway).
Her exhibition portfolio spans both nationally and internationally (solo, group, and collaborative), and she has participated in art fairs including PULSE New York (NY), the Miami Project (FL), and VOLTA12 Basel (Switzerland). Marna is currently represented by Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA.
Statement
What happens when we set aside the need to represent what we see and instead respond with how we feel? To me, life is fragmented and layered, a mosaic of experiences interwoven with reflection and intuition: the places we visit, the homes we live in, the countries we explore – each overlap and influence one another.
Blending contemporary and classical approaches to painting and composition, I examine how human experience, place, and personal memory affect my perception of self. What memories or feelings do these places spark and what sort of energy do they project?
I use abstraction to move through and define the two-dimensional picture plane, and color to express a certain idea or mood. Perspective, saturation, transparency, together with glazing and layering, create an illusion of depth and space, while visually conveying the fusion of memory with experience.
I investigate whether someone can access and experience a new view of the world through my work and explore whether, through art, we can share our individual perceptions.