Cynthia Barlow Marrs SGFA

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Cynthia Barlow Marrs SGFA

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Statement

 

I have a lifelong interest in memory and thought, and the way we interpret our experiences over time.

 

I draw on memories of landscapes around the world to create sense impressions of space and light. My invented landscapes feature the repeated use of stylised forms such as leaves, trees and blades of grass, the one sometimes morphing into the other. 

 

In my sketchbooks, on the other hand, I attempt to capture unposed moments in everyday life. Drawing from observation helps to develop my working memory and my understanding of the world we live in. And as I draw I develop a richer appreciation for the stories we tell ourselves about our lives.

 

Whether working from observation or imagination, I am fascinated by relative scale and the way the smallest shift in perspective can determine whether something looks tiny or tremendous. 

 

These ideas have been important themes in my solo exhibitions. In 2007 I created a five metre-long installation "Undercurrents - Ten Views through a River of Words" for my exhbition at the River & Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames. "Undercurrents" is about creative self expression, and what a story feels like when you can't find the words to tell it. 

 

In 2012 I developed "The Portable Forest", an installation over two walls at Ripley Arts Centre in Bromley, Kent. I imagined quiet reflection as a habitat in which certain species of thought thrive. And I imagined memories as if they were deer appearing in the forest in moments of stillness. These images derive from my time spent in Windsor Great Park, and from my experience living in Germany: I was once deep in a forest where the only sound was a cuckoo calling in the distance, and the only visible creature was the occasional surprised deer. The magic of that memory has stayed with me, and I retreat to that world from time to time.

 

My solo exhibition in 2020 was 'Pale Grey Castle", which marked the beginning of my new drawing series Papered Over, in which I explore ideas about transformation, and the Pale Grey Castle series in which I reinvent familiar scenes in my home town of Windsor.


 

 

 

Exhibition History

2023'Out of Town' SGFA members exhibition - The Gallery Holt, Norfolk NR25 6HS
2023The Freshfields annual exhibition of works on paper, at 100 Bishopsgate London
2023SGFA (Society of Graphic Fine Art - The Drawing Society) 102nd Annual Open Exhibition, Mall Galleries London
2022SGFA 101st Annual Open Exhibition, Mall Galleries London
2021ING Discerning Eye Exhibition, Mall Galleries London
2021SGFA 100th Annual Open Exhibition, Mall Galleries London
2020Solo exhibition 'Pale Grey Castle at The Oldcourt Artspace Windsor SL4 3BL
2019SGFA Members Centenary Exhibition - Bankside Gallery, London and RSBA Gallery, Birmingham
2018DRAW 18 - Menier Gallery, London
2018Windsor Festival & Fringe Artist's Open House
2017Windsor Contemporary Art Fair - Royal Windsor Racecourse
2017DRAW 17 - Menier Gallery, London
2017Windsor Festival & Fringe Artist's Open House
2017SGFA Members - Tower 42, London
2017SGFA Members - Griersons Gallery, Sevenoaks
2017SGFA Members - Bankside Gallery, London
2016Windsor Festival & Fringe Artist's Open House
2016DRAW 16 - Menier Gallery, London
2015DRAW 15 - Menier Gallery, London
2015Windsor Fringe Festival Artist's Open House
2015Drawn Together - Bankside Gallery, London
2014Windsor Contemporary Art Fair
2014DRAW 14 - Menier Gallery, London
2014Paper Works - R K Burt Gallery, London
2014Hand Drawn - Barbican Library, London
2013DRAW 13 - Menier Gallery, London
2012DRAW 12 - Menier Gallery, London
2012Paper Works - R K Burt Gallery, London
2012The Portable Forest solo exhibition - Ripley Arts Centre, Bromley KENT
2012The Final Cut group exhibition - Harvey Gallery, Guildford
2011DRAW 11 - Menier Gallery, London
2011Horti-CULTURE group exhibition - O3 Gallery, Oxford
201089th Annual Open Exhibition, Society of Graphic Fine Art - Menier Gallery, London
2010A Summer Exhibition group show - Manley Gallery, Eton Art Trail
2010Henley Festival
2010Oxfordshire Artweeks
200988th Annual Open Exhibition, Society of Graphic Fine Art - Menier Gallery, London
2008Windsor Contemporary Art Fair
2008Akimbo group exhibition The Old Fire Station Gallery, Henley-on-Thames
2008Shadow and Light solo exhibition The West Wing Arts Centre
2007Undercurrents: Ten Views through a River of Words solo exhibition - River and Rowing Museum, Henley-on-Thames
2006Artist on the Landing - Figura Gallery, Windsor
2005Flight solo exhibition at The West Wing Arts Centre
2005 2006Windsor Contemporary Art Fair