Marianne Desmarais: samples + patches

Through parallel practices of art and architecture, productive cross-pollination shapes the work of artist Marianne Desmarais. Techniques from architectural practice are applied in drawings and sculptures that attempt to alter space through the manipulation of form, optics, and surface. Utilizing manual and digital modes of production, resistance and collapse are explored as themes of structural response. Marianne works with geometry and material characteristics to visually amplify the relationships between constructive parts, media, and disciplines. Her works move off the surface of the gallery walls to approach the viewer physically, to push and pull space.

Current works are composite textiles made of linen and wood—where one material is rigid, the other is soft. In combination, these qualities result in emergent forms and fluid composition. Desmarais continually pairs these contrasts to express the stillness present when tension is produced by gravity and resisted or encouraged by inscribed hinge points. The works reveal that balance is a state between equal and opposing forces.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website