Marilyn Fenn | Texas Wax

Artist's Spotlight: Marilyn Fenn

Profile:

I am an abstract painter, and live with my wonderful husband in fabulous, funky Austin, TX. I also freelance in web design, graphic design and illustration. But mostly, I’m a painter. I paint primarily in oil, acrylic and encaustic. I am also a co-designer and co-administrator of the Texas Wax website.

Member of Texas Wax Group:

Austin

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Marilyn Fenn

Bio

Born: Cleveland, OH Lives and Works: Austin, TX Marilyn Fenn has been creating art in one form or another since early childhood. In 1985, she returned to college to study fine art — first at Austin Community College and then at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she studied with several of the famed Chicago Imagists, and in 1992 received her BFA. Currently, Marilyn works primarily as an abstract painter, working in oil, acrylic and encaustic. From the beginning, Marilyn was interested in the abstract qualities of color and form whether she was working abstractly or representationally. Eventually, her work has evolved to an exploration of these aspects of painting without undue distraction from external subject matter. The common thread throughout all of Marilyn’s work is an unerring sense of color, and a constant celebration of how paint inhabits a surface. Marilyn has exhibited her work in numerous juried and invitational group and solo shows, and given art demonstrations, classes and talks. She is an active member in several local artist organizations, including Austin Visual Arts Association and TexasWax/Austin. Marilyn’s work is collected in private collections across the country and abroad. You can visit her studio by appointment.

Statement

My work is about the joy of seeing the beauty of shapes in paint. It ranges from total abstraction to images drawn from the world around us. Some of my new work is inspired by patterns at different scales in the natural world - from molecules to ice sheets to nebulae. Some of my recent work deals with images of energy unleashed, such as tornadoes and nuclear bombs. Other works are inspired by a shape, a color combination or a concept, and then I just follow the brushes and see where they lead. I currently work in either oil, acrylic or encaustic. The choice of media allows me to delve into different methods of working with the materials to explore a myriad of possibilities for creating beauty out of various shapes and patches of color. With all my work, I like to challenge the viewer to see the beauty that’s right before their eyes –– the colors and shapes of paint.

Resume

EDUCATION

1992 School of the Art Institute of Chicago, BFA, Painting
1989 Austin Community College, AA, Fine Art
1983 University of Texas at Dallas, BA, English

Painting Workshops

2007 Andrew Long, various classes at Austin Museum of Art School, Austin, TX
2002 Charles Wildbank, artist workshop at Giogalto Villa, Tuscany, Italy
1999-2002 Noel Robbins, various classes at Robbins Studio and Austin Museum of Art School, Austin, TX

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions

2009 The E-word: Recent Work of Marilyn Fenn, Bay6 Gallery and Studios, Austin, TX
2006 Abstract Paintings and Prints of Marilyn Fenn, Quack's Maplewood, Austin, TX
2005-2006 Artwork of Marilyn Fenn, Austin Regional Clinic at Far West, Austin, TX
2004 Paintings and Prints of Marilyn Fenn, Austin Java Co., Barton Creek Mall, Austin, TX
2003 Art Without a Safety Net, solo virtual art exhibit sponsored by Salem Design
2003 Artwork of Marilyn Fenn, AVAA Exhibit at Carr America, Austin,TX
2003 Art in the Country, with Kelly Borsheim, Borsheim Arts, Cedar Creek, TX
1990 Marilyn Fenn: Paintings and Drawings, Execucom Systems Corporation, Austin, TX

Group Exhibitions

2009 History and Hot Wax: Encaustic Art, Museo Gallery at Great Hills, Austin, TX
2009 Working in Wax, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA
2009 Degrees, Gallery M Squared, Houston, TX
2009 5 x 7 Art Splurge & Exhibition, Arthouse at the Jones Center, Austin, TX
2008-2009 AVAA 2D Works at ABIA, East Gallery, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Austin TX
2008 7th Annual East Austin Studio Tour, Marilyn Fenn Studio, Austin, TX
2008 Fused Expressions, Bay6 Gallery and Studios, Austin TX
2008 Real and Imagined, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Ft. Worth, TX
2008 Texas Kaos/Netroots Nation After Party and Art Exhibit, Bay6 Gallery and Studios, Austin TX
2008 5 x 7 Art Splurge & Exhibition, Arthouse at the Jones Center, Austin, TX
2007 Blue Genie Art Bazaar, Monarch Events Center, Austin, TX
2007 3rd Annual 12 x 12 Exhibit, Artspoken Gallery & Studios, Austin, TX
2007 6th Annual East Austin Studio Tour, Marilyn Fenn Studio, Austin, TX
2007 WAR-Artists Respond, Dougherty Arts Center, Austin, TX
2007 AVAA's 30th Anniversary Exhibit and Reunion, Dougherty Arts Center, Austin, TX
2006 5th Annual East Austin Studio Tour, Marilyn Fenn Studio, Austin, TX
2004 “Charisma,” VU Austin