Marlene Bauer
We are pleased to present a new series of acrylic paintings by Portland artist, Marlene Bauer entitled, Carson Heights. She continues to explore a symbolic vocabulary of abstract images and color while integrating a range of shape and color. Bauer creates a kind of visual poetry, inspired by memories and impressions of familiar people, places and neighborhoods, as suggested by the exhibit title. “Rather than portraying particular scenes, my paintings communicate my sensory experiences as they are shaped by a profusion of color. The images, existing somewhere between abstraction, realism and geometry, are a manifestation of simplified forms and colors as they appear in my mind.” Bauer understands color better than most as her sensory awareness is heightened by something called, synethesia; an innate ability to connect particular colors with particular sounds. Consequently as Bauer develops her paintings she refines her interpretations--taken from the mind’s eye--to create beautiful abstractions.
A Northwest native, Marlene Bauer received her BFA in 1976 from the Pacific Northwest College of Art. Since that time she has exhibited her work throughout the Northwest while teaching art at Marylhurst College. From 2002-05, she taught art at Clackamas Community College and most recently was responsible for developing their Alexander Gallery. Her work is in private and public collections along the West coast. In 2004, she successfully completed a commission, Munnich for the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.