A. Chromatic Geometry
Returning to my original exploration of geometric abstraction, this series invites deeper reflection on the intricate interplay of color, form, and texture. Hand quilting coupled with digitally manipulated photography offers a contemporary aesthetic experience while honoring traditional craftsmanship'
B.. Innuendos- Mixed Media/ Hand Quilted
Although all of the images that I create from my original photographs are manipulated in the computer before I commit them to a work, I am often conflicted about how much abstraction I want to employ. A fascination with the detail in the subject depicted vies with the personal emotional component conveyed in the abstraction. This conflict resonates with the poem by Wallace Stevens…
“I do not know which to prefer,
The beauty of inflections
Or the beauty of innuendos,
The blackbird whistling
Or just after.”
C. Mannahatta- Mixed Media/ Hand Quilted
Mannahatta was the original native American name for the island of Manhattan. The images are derived from architectural structures built during different periods in the history of the island and which can all be seen simultaneously in the co-existence of past and present. The quilting design of overlapping concentric circles is symbolic of the ephemeral nature of our existence on this landscape….we are here for a while and then gone, while the structures remain. Mixed media hand-quilted works on cotton.
D. New Digs: Texas- Mixed Media/ Hand Quilted
In 2022, after spending my first ninety years a New York City resident , in Greenwich Village for all of my adult life, I made the decision to move my studio and establish a new home in Plano Texas. The primary motivation was to be near my son who was dealing with serious medical issues, but my sense of adventure and love of new vistas to explore added a strong impetus. While the subject matter of my new work changes as it reflects my surroundings, the focus shifts to the natural world and its interaction with man-made structures.
E. Floating Bridges- Ireland & England- Mixed Media/ Hand Quilted
Mixed media works which have been inspired by my travels in Ireland and England. Images are derived from my digitally manipulated photographs which are printed on cotton, hand quilted and gallery wrapped on stretched canvas.
F. European Odyssey- Mixed Media/ Hand Quilted
A visual treat of European cities inspired by my travels in France, Belgium, Austria, Poland, and Hungary. The works are derived from my digitally manipulated photographs which are pigment printed on cotton and silk, hand quilted, and gallery-wrapped on stretched canvas.
G. Echoes- Mixed Media/Hand Quilted
“Footfalls echo in the memory….” T.S. Eliot
“The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life.” William Faulkner
These small mixed media works comprise impressionistic images inspired by places where I have lived and to which I have traveled over the past ninety years. From photographs that I have taken over the years, echoes of those visual memories come to life again, transformed by combining new technology with ancient handwork.
H. New Orleans Revisited- Mixed Media
This series focuses on the vibrant colors of several neighborhoods in New Orleans seven years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Mixed media on cotton, and linen, hand quilted, and collage works on stretched canvas.
I. Patchwork City- Collage
Drawn from my photographic images of urban architecture which are digitally manipulated and pigment-printed on linen, these collages capture the energy and vitality of the ever-changing urban landscape. The linen collages are created on a substrate of stretched canvas.
J. Moments- Mixed Media/Hand Quilted
Up to 2023, I have focused primarily on inanimate subject matter for my inspiration, (architecture, other man-made objects and the natural world). This new series will look at the fleeting nature of human experience. Entitled Moments, the subject of these works will draw inspiration from singular moments in life’s timeline.
The geometric quilting designs that animate the surface symbolize our attempts to create order in what otherwise would seem like a chaotic world in which we exist.
![Bride by Marilyn Henrion](https://assets.artworkarchive.com/image/upload/t_square_crop_small/v1/user_33076/bride-300dpi_u5wzel.jpg)
K. Impressions- Collage
These linen collages are created with fabric images derived from my digitally manipulated photographs of places in which I have lived or visited. They evoke the feeling of a particular place in an impressionistic style rather than a representational one, conveying a mood rather than a literal depiction. Reflective of fleeting impressions one experiences when traveling in a moving vehicle or on a fast walk,
L. Windows- Mixed Media/ Hand Quilted
This series focuses on the metaphorical implications of the window which, from Renaissance painting to cinema and cyberspace, has always been perceived as a mediator between spaces. "Windows" is the visual bridge between inside and out. Though transparent, the window may serve as the barrier or the link between the inside viewer and the world outside. The works are composed of digitally manipulated images that are printed on silk, hand-quilted, and gallery-wrapped on stretched canvas.
M. Complexity (Nature)- Mixed Media/Hand Quilted
Inspired by the natural world, these mixed media works are created by printing my digitally manipulated photographs on fabric, adding a layer of depth and animation to the surfaces by hand quilting with silk thread. The works find resonance in the scientific theory of complexity.
O. Abstract - Pieced/Hand Quilted Works
This group of works consists of hand quilted pieced works from various geometric abstraction series that were created between 1989 and 2013.
P. Abstract - Hooked Works
These hand-hooked works continue my exploration of geometric abstraction in a variety of textile-based forms, from hand quilted pieced works to hand-hooked works, all celebrating that intimate and irregular quality of the human hand that softens the hard edges of geometric abstraction.
Q. Soft City- Mixed Media/Hand Quilted
As a native New Yorker, I created this series of works to represent my personal take on the city, revealing its soft side, with unexpected visual treats lurking around every corner. Once Gotham’s hard unyielding surfaces are peeled back, the beautiful and complex patina of each facade is illuminated. These mixed media works represent a fusion of past and present. Ancient needlework techniques are combined with digitally manipulated photography and inkjet printing to create works of art that reflect contemporary aesthetic sensibilities. The presence of the hand stitching both animates the surfaces of the works and, at the same time, softens and humanizes the urban geometry by the irregular qualities of texture inherent in the materials and construction.