contact:   roximarsen71@gmail.com


artist statement

Making things is essential to my life.  These days I find myself painting with found objects.  I piece together open ended 3-dimensional assemblages with a painterly sensibility.  Using self taught sculptural techniques, I assemble disparate elements with wire, drilling, balance and occasional epoxy.  The objects inexplicably transform into artwork.

Part of the process is the collection and preparation of materials.  I am a scavenger.  My inclination to repurpose objects from secondhand shops, basements of aging hardware and cast offs left on city stoops continually intrigues me.  I scan the streets as I ride my bike turning back for something that catches my eye.  This stockpile of salvaged materials allows me to cruise for the right shape, color and narrative element to begin and add to what has begun.  Reclaiming rusty metal objects is routine.  The alchemy of removing rust and grime to reveal authentic metal surfaces is magical.  Preserving the patina of manipulated metal and evolving sculptural skills are ever present in my quest  for archival consideration.

Titles are crucial to my process.  Inspired by the found objects speaking beyond the individual parts, I forage for narrative meaning. The drawer pulls appearing as earrings in the forthright figure of Ladies First make this transformed lamp stand come alive.   The central object of sheep shears in City of Light was found in a shop on my first visit to Paris.  The miniature Eiffel Towers incorporated into radiant spindles solidify the commemoration. 

Each piece is intuitively unique.  I never know how a work will begin or how it will finish.  The significance of what I do is that I go to my studio everyday and thrive with the privilege of what I create.  This inventiveness suits my compulsion to make things.  Whimsical expression utilizes and reaches beyond the technical practice.  The success is measured when everything hums.

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bio

In 1981, I spent seven months in Provincetown at the Fine Arts Work Center as a fellow.  This gift of time and space gave me the opportunity to be an artist all day and every day. While there, I was chosen by Jack Tworkov to be in a prestigious exhibition at CDS Gallery in NYC.  “Artists Choose Artists” was curated by Dore Ashton and included emerging artists chosen by other notable artists such as Robert Motherwell and John Walker.  My career flourished with one person and group exhibitions.  This good fortune led to critical and commercial success, including the “Working in Brooklyn” 1987 exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, curated by Charlotta Kotik.

My academic studies include an MFA from Pratt Institute, a BA from Trenton State College, as well as, a formative year at Bard College.  I have received fellowships from the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown and MacDowell Colony.  Numerous professional credentials include solo and group exhibitions in and around NYC.