—  Rosanna Marmont  —

Born in rural New Zealand on a sheep and cattle farm, Rosanna Marmont immigrated with her family to Canada at age thirteen. She studied at McGill University and Concordia University in Montreal, acquiring a Bachelor of Fine Arts Majoring in Painting and Drawing in 2009. She currently works from her studio in Tucson Arizona and exhibits her work primarily in Western Canada. 
As an artist Rosanna Marmont seeks to give attention to that which we edit out from our preferred vision the world around us. Most recently, she is known for her works that challenge the romantic lens through which we perceive and cultivate the image of the west. She often introduces uncomfortable elements or obstacles in her work in order to undress traditional ways of seeing, perceiving, and interpreting. ‘I see my work as an artist to be as a truth seeker. To point out that which is right in front of us, but that which we can no longer see because our idea of the who we are and where we live has overwritten the reality.’ 

TECHNIQUE

Incorporating the natural grain and figure of various wood paneling, Marmont uses the suggestions of her wood canvas as a starting point, drawing out an image using hundreds of layers of diluted oil pigment. Her priority is to capture the mood and feeling of a place through light and dark, colour and form. She tries to push the boundaries of traditional landscape painting by using devices that direct or obstruct the viewers eye. The structure of her works attempt a balance between ‘push’ and ‘pull’, between light and dark, beauty and ugliness, attraction and repulsion.