Abstractions: Anne Marchand

The vibrant large-scale abstract paintings of Anne Marchand are alive with shifting space, moving color, and animated lines. Marchand’s abstractions reflect a range of perspectives: images of deep space, views from airplanes and automobiles, perceptions of natural and man-made textures and patterns, along with their emotional resonances, all distilled together. During the process of painting, a new insight is released, which the artist relates to the poet Garcia Lorca’s vision of duende – the soulful response to a work of art, infused with earthiness, the irrationality, and existential vulnerability.

Marchand’s abstractions developed after years of experimenting in paintings with acrylic mediums and interference and pearlescent pigments. With these materials, qualities of radiance and light became active metaphors reflecting an inner state of being. Images of planets from the Hubble telescope inspired the painter to introduce circular imagery into her work. The nebulas and galaxies suggested biological structures, and Marchand realized the connection between space and the body as manifestations of the same universal energy. Her paintings capture the great sense of wonder, introspection, and imagination.