| "Marian Bingham, better known simply as Bing, creates idyllic
landscapes populated by horses. These recent paintings continue
to investigate the relationship between dreamscape and the less
magical landscape of the waking hours. Yet, they remain a part
of the classic vocabulary of landscape painting and thus evoke
painting's long history in rendering nature.
Though born in California, her work quotes her study of Oriental
art and the experience of having lived for many years in Asia,
where she stayed in Hong Kong and Manilla. This information is
not lost in her delicate brushwork, with its bold and direct
contrasts between the paper's whiteness and the charged areas
of color. Using a palette dominated by reds, blues and yellows,
Bing's paintings demonstrate the power of line and color to deliver
an emotional punch regardless of subject matter. In fact, though
her subject matter appears common, the works have a "personal" content
that bears on our viewing. Unlike the many horse paintings of
Susan Rothenberg, Bing's horses often carry lone figures. These
expressionistic and colorful figures further accentuate the character
of nature as a personification of human beings. With a gritty
repertoire of lines and shapes, Bing's paintings suggest a detached
enjoyment in the ever-evolving narrative of humanity in nature."
Franklin Sirmans
Freelance writer, curator and former editor of Flash Art,2000
"...the colours and the tactile quality are marvelous.
So much more luminous than the postcards; as always....had a
great time trying to figure out how you do your paintings..."
Robyn Behring, AMSCAM
"Absolutely marvelous. Those postcard reproductions just
do not do the paintings justice at all. The colours, composition,
everything was amazing. I found myself reacting to them on a
real gut level. We really enjoyed ourselves. Thank you so much,
we are looking forward to the next show in the area."
Robyn Behring, AMSCAM
"[The] paradoxical character of...paintings---a delicate
balance of description and abstraction, idea and image, process
and product---is their strength."
Lisa Lyons and Robert Storr
"Electronic imaging is changing art. Watching T.V. graphics,
computerized marks and mechanized images of the natural world
our eyes accept what our minds expect to be totally 'real'. Inspired
by these new ways of seeing, Bing's surreal images evolve through
the abstraction of natural objects via the computer and/or photographic
print."
Zilkha Galleries' Statement 1994 by Brad Hubbell
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