Bruce Marion
Classically trained as a fine artist, Bruce has enjoyed a productive and recognized career as an illustrator, with his work showcased in international publications (Time) and in juried shows. But continually he has been pulled to explore the deeper issues of man’s existence, paralleling his own journey toward awareness / consciousness and pulling away from the more literal portrayals of his illustrative work.
In his “Dancing Figures” and “Spirits” series, Marion began his exploration of the psyche, simultaneously portraying his figures’ literal and physical beings and their inner energy or existence. Each of these insightful, often playful portraits is actually two separate paintings - at the foundations is a colorful, highly energized and textural abstract, that works on an evocative level to provide the inner life. Over this are layered the figures, who through the artist’s guided vision serve as “Everyman” frameworks through which to study the inner spirit.
Marion’s recent works take this spiritual study a step further, exploring emotion and evoking response in a purely abstract form. “By removing the connection to individual entities,” says Marion of his new abstracts, “I’m finding an enhanced connection to the cosmos, wherein all stuff and matter exists within us and outside us at once – a kind of Macro/Micro cosmic collision.” Indeed, the “Meridian” and “Cirque” abstract series are highly intuitive, and thus strikingly evocative, allowing the viewer to share Marion’s vision of the world and explore their own feelings about their place in creation at the same time.