Location: United States
Marlene Siff was born in New York City and raised in the Bronx. She was an art honors student at the eponymous High School of Music and Art (now LaGuardia High School of Music, Art and Performing Arts located near Lincoln Center). She graduated from Hunter College with a B.A. degree majoring in Fine Arts, and was elected to Kappa Pi, the Honorary Arts Society.
Marlene Siff's work has been exhibited in museums, galleries and universities throughout the U.S. and abroad. Selected exhibitions include Scope Art Miami, Katonah Museum of Art, Embraer Executive Jets Showroom, Eastern Kentucky University, Walsh Art Gallery at Fairfield University, National Institutes of Health, Bergdorf Goodman, Columbia/Barnard University, Walter Wickiser Gallery, University of Texas, Calvin Charles Gallery, Premium Lounge of American Airlines at Miami International Airport, Red Dot Art Fair, Art Basel Miami, Times Square Billboard Premiere Event, Arts Westchester, The Aldrich Museum, Attleboro Arts Museum, Mattatuck Museum, and The New Britain Museum of American Art.
Marlene's assemblage, "Fallen Heroes Afghanistan", is on exhibition in Connecticut Congressman Jim Himes' office at the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. Her painting "Peace/War" is part of the permanent collection of the B'Nai Brith Klutznick National Jewish Museum in Washington DC and her work on paper "Pluie et Soleil" is on permanent exhibition in the Brian C. Nevin Welcome Center at Cornell University. Marlene's painting "Staccato" and 6 framed maquettes were recently placed on exhibition through August 2018, with a paid honorarium, in the corporate headquarters lobby of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in Tarrytown, NY.
Marlene was featured in an episode of "Creative Women" Today, on CT Cablevision, and selected to appear in "Years In The Making", a documentary film by Martin West.
Since 2014 Marlene has been juried into 103 competitions throughout the United States and has won 33 awards.
Marlene Siff works in her home-based studio in Westport, CT.
Artist Statement
I am concerned with communicating a sense of harmony, balance, order and spirituality.
We are all confronted on a daily basis with the fragmentation of our non-linear lives, trying, as in a puzzle, to make all the pieces fit together to make sense of it all.
My paintings, works on paper, and sculpture depict imagery of personal events and psychological issues. They are expressed through geometric shapes, color, light, space, texture, edges and movement all interplaying with one another engaging the viewer to participate.
Most recently, I embarked on a series of white paintings that abandon my signature bold palette. These paintings, from the "Elements of Peace" series, pay homage to people who have been affected by war. White is soft, quiet, spiritual, unadorned and full of infinite possibilities. My intention was to create an architectural space for rest, retreat, connection, reflection and identification.
The multi-dimensionality and multi-layering of my work reference what one must uncover to penetrate the illusions of reality and reach the mystery and essence of the soul.
Humanity, 2012; 36 ” ½ x 46” x 18 3/4”
Acrylic on Linen
Shifting Balance, 2012; 60 1/4” x 60 1/4” x 10 3/4”
Acrylic on Linen
Survival, 2011; 25 3/4'' x 52” x 10 1/4”
Acrylic on Linen
Entente Cordiale, 2012; 75 3/4” x 45” x 13 1/2”
Acrylic on Linen
Truth, Politics, Lies, 2011; 42 3/4” x 40 3/4” x 16”
Acrylic on Linen
The inspiration for my new body of work came when I turned 77 years old. I was in shock at the sound of the number. After careful consideration I decided to celebrate the number 7 with a new series of work. Seven is an exceptionally interesting number representing many important facts: 7 days of the week, 7 planets, 7 heavens, 7 continents, 7 seas, 7 wonders of the world, 7 colors in the rainbow, 7 notes on a musical scale…
In order to free myself from all the distressing and depressing political issues in my former body of work "Elements of Peace" I chose to formally embrace music… one of my great passions.
This decision has given me the golden opportunity to develop a new interpretation of music in art. Presently I am visually and emotionally expressing shapes, color, light, space, and texture. These ideas are influenced by the rhythm, structure and sounds of the musical compositions and songs I have chosen for each one of the interactive, multi-dimensional paintings. This new series has also enabled and challenged me to experiment with iridescent colors.
My new body of work, due to be completed by the end of 2018, is entitled "7 Finely Tuned". The names of the paintings are "Septet", "Staccato", "Elegy", "Legato", "Fanfare", "Crescendo", and "Fugue". All 7 exhibited paintings will be accompanied with an iPod and headphones. This will allow the viewer to connect directly with the painting by listening to pre-selected music relating to the title of each work.
Working on "7 Finely Tuned" has become a creative, emotional and spiritual adventure! My hope for this new exhibition is to inspire strength, power, courage, and happiness at this particular time of great stress in our country.
2016, Acrylic on Linen, 72" x 88" x 7 1/2"
2016, Acrylic on Linen, 72" x 72" x 10 1/2"
2017, Acrylic on Linen, 92" x 105" x 19”
2017, Acrylic on Linen, 47 1/2" x 61" x 7 3/4"
“In Perpetuity”
“History and Geography”
“Neo Gothic”
“Full Spectrum”
“Humanity”
“Shifting Balance”
“Survival”
“Entente Cordiale”
“Truth, Politics, Lies”
“Septet”
“Staccato”
“Elegy”
“Legato”
