On Friday February 4, the Atrium Gallery in Clayton will open its exhibition of the art of native St. Louisan Michael Marshall in a show titled, “Tangential Reflections: New Drawings and a Selection of Paintings.”
The show, which will be in place through March 26, will include several large paintings that Marshall produced over the previous decade. The new pieces in the exhibit, which are substantially smaller and works on paper as opposed to canvas, use mixed media and ink drawings to condense concepts from the artist’s earlier paintings.
Although the drawings can be called “reflections” on his previous works, Marshall said that he initially wanted to title the exhibit “refractions.”
“When you have refraction, basically it’s a relooking at something, maybe broken up into smaller pieces,” Marshall said. “It’s a reexamination of my earlier concerns, but on a more intimate scale.”
Atrium Gallery owner Carolyn Miller said that his intimate attention to detail and abundant creativity initially attracted her to Marshall’s works.
“You can see certain threads of interest on his part that go all the way back,” Miller said, “and yet the new work that comes in is always just fresh and exciting and wonderful, and it just makes you feel good.”
Marshall’s arrival in St. Louis on Saturday will be me more than just another business trip. It will be a homecoming.
In high school, Marshall split time between Beaumont, an honors art program offered through the St. Louis Public Schools and John Burroughs, from which he graduated in 1971.
Marshall then went on to the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, where he received his BFA. In 1977 he received his MFA from Yale University. He now serves as associate professor of art at the University of Hawaii.
Despite his travels, Marshall still feels like St. Louis is home.
“Although I have been away for a good number of years, I still strongly feel that connection,” he said.
“I could go anywhere in the world, but it wouldn’t be like being in St. Louis.”
“Tangential Reflections” opens with a reception for the artist Friday, February 4 from 5-8 p.m. and will continue through March 26. There will be a Salon with an artist gallery talk on Saturday, February 5 at 1 p.m.
Atrium Gallery is located at 7638 Forsyth Blvd. in Clayton. Regular hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10-5 p.m., and by appointment; call 726-1066.