Renee Marceau: Re: Membering

July 3rd – July 18th

I love to capture the tension between nature’s vulnerability and its strength. I am continually surprised by the connections between seemingly unconnected objects through patterns, shape, color and texture…like how a small snail suddenly finds the perfect spot to nestle into the indentation of a jaw bow. How do these shapes compliment each other when one originated in the ocean and the other inside a body? I like to marvel at these small wonders and present pieces that are akin to small visual poems each highlighting a unique aspect between ourselves and nature.

ARTIST STATEMENT
I grew up combing the beaches and hiking the mountain trails around the Pacific Northwest.
These early forays into the wild instilled a curiosity for the often overlooked or forgotten objects in nature. Today, this relationship finds its way into my art making filling drawers of carefully curated objects. I work with materials from the land and sea that inspire me ~ like willow, nettle, bones, shells, and seed pods ~ constructing 3D assemblages. I seek patterns and shapes that connect seemingly unconnected objects highlighting common threads and the tenuous edge of vulnerability and impermanence we all face. My work strives to elevate the connections and the tension between the natural world around us and our inner human nature. In my view, we are not separate from nature. We are nature.”

BIO
Renee grew up combing the beaches and hiking the mountain trails around the Pacific Northwest. Her habit of gathering objects from nature began early and has continued on to now fill drawers and table tops in her studio. These early forays into the wild instilled a curiosity for the often overlooked or hidden parts of nature.

Renee began formal art classes in drawing during middle school years, graduating from the University of Washington with a BFA in Graphic Design. During that time she studied printmaking and photography and continued after college with classes and private sessions in monotype printing. Her various creative and professional paths in print and digital interface design, icon design, printmaking, photography, tile installation design and architectural design all inform her current work as a 3D assemblage artist.

In 2011, after a year of deep nature immersion, farming and beekeeping, she began creating assemblages that combined pieces from her growing collection of natural objects and old farming and ancestral artifacts. This opened a whole new world of creativity for her that felt congruent and synergistic with her life as a farmer and interests in traditional rural and earth-based skills. Her curiosity of other cultures and traditional skills, has led her to study basketry, leather work, spinning and felting. All of these skills and materials influence her 3D assemblages and the stories they hold.

Renee has shown in Seattle gallery venues, has had open studio tours and been a member of the VALISE art collective on Vashon Island.