Marion Borgelt draws inspiration from subjects such as semiotics, language, cosmology and phenomenology to create atavistic fantasies and mysteries in the forms of painting, sculpture and installation. Her work suggests connections between culture and nature, between the constructed world and the organic world, between microcosm and macrocosm and the duality of light and dark.
Read MoreA lexicon of symbols and motifs, at once universal and personal, distinguishes the imagery of Borgelt’s work. Drawing on experience with a wide range of materials, including bees-wax, canvas, felt, pigment, stainless steel, wood, stone and organic matter, she hones her ideas to the demands of a given site, mediating the creative intervention with originality and sensitivity. By exploring the unique qualities of these materials she gives them their own voice and expression.
In the presence of Marion Borgelt’s work one is struck by the energy that her vibrant works emit. The intricate contours and curves are bathed in Borgelt’s signature luminous hues. The paintings and cut works appear alive, animated by vivid colours in metallics and oils. They illuminate their immediate surroundings creating a lively ambience, enveloping the viewer with their light and apparent motion.
Particular series are especially notable for their force, namely the Strobe and Liquid Light suites. These works are charged with a strength that remains dormant until it encounters the viewer. They seemingly shift before our eyes, creating optical illusions and distortions. We are struck by the power of the pieces, finding them beguiling and occasionally unsettling.
Borgelt explores complex themes such as motion, the sequential measuring of time and the orbit of the moon and planets in sculptural installations such as Moonlight Tsukimi, Lunar Warp and Lunar Circle. The influence of the celestial on our sense of time and space is immeasurable and it is from this fact that Borgelt draws inspiration, referencing the passing of time, the constant state of flux, the ‘heartbeat’ of our solar system. As the ancient philosopher Heraclitus said: ‘Change is the only constant, nothing endures but change itself’. (Mia Pinjuh)
‘Why not use our natural world as a springboard for ideas? It seems perfectly natural to me – I am very comfortable with maths, science and physics in so far as how they provide an inroad to understanding our magical universe. For me, an artist, I don’t think one has to try to be the mathematician, scientist or physicist, but each of these discipline offers a language that can be very inspirational’. (Marion Borgelt)
Marion Borgelt lives and works in Sydney travelling each year to World Heritage protected sites advancing her knowledge of history, art and architecture.
Text courtesy Dominik Mersch Gallery.
