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R T I S T S T A T E M E N T
T h e A r t o f M a
r c e l l e L a C o u r
Marcelle La Cour’s art is a blend of surreal and imaginary realism: compositions that merge still life into city scenes or into evocative landscapes that rouse one’s sense of beauty as well as fun and intellect; often her work has subtle messages that one discovers in the placement of certain objects or half-hidden elements. Marcelle is fond of adding an amusing twist, a visual deception or an extraordinary detail that provokes another look.
Growing up in a family of dancers, painters and free-thinkers, Marcelle’s non-traditional background opened her up to in an inner life where imagination and deep-set inspirations matured, now revealing an artist who feels she must apply her intellect and passion to her art. In a culture she sees too much driven by commercial values, Marcelle moved in the opposite direction—toward qualities she fears we are losing: integrity, meaning, beauty and joy, and she imbues much of her work with these concepts. This, along with her experience in the fields of music and dance, led to the development of her signature artistic theme: the rhythm and dance of light illuminating objects and spaces so as to bring them to life in glowing, translucent hues that enhance message and significance in each work.
“What I paint is what I feel, using my brush to stroke into life enchanted vistas that take one on unexpected journeys of moment and meaning or simple delight.”
At age 15 Marcelle won her first art competition and was awarded a trip to Paris. Afterward she studied under two master artists. Feeling the need to expand on this knowledge, she developed a singular method that allows her to actualize the images in her mind, and without the use of toxic solvents. The use of a special medium refines her process, resulting in a singular technique and style. Employing light as the means of illuminating form and color in meticulously worked compositions, she transfers these in charcoal onto canvas, over which a layer of lead white paint is applied in thin layers and textured strokes to create a subtle three-dimensional effect. After the canvas has been set aside to dry for some time, she paints in more opaque colors and then applies numerous layers of glazes, tints and scrubbed-in color until her brushes are worn down to nearly nothing. The contrasting interplay of textured brush strokes and smooth glazes gives her work an extraordinary quality that transcends conventional painting in its visual impact.
Marcelle’s newest ongoing series of work, Paris in Another Light, represents a highly refined stage of the technique she has been developing for years. These paintings are meant to convey the impression or the essence of Paris that resides in one’s emotions, rather than to portray a realistic view of the city. The use of light and color in Marcelle’s paintings seduce one into a dimension where mood and the pleasure of the senses comingle effortlessly with message. Her style transcends the viewer to another plane of heightened reality and intensified emotion.
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Of French and Russian heritage, Marcelle La Cour was raised in Los Angeles in a family of painters, dancers and musicians. She does not remember a time when she did not draw, paint or dance. Her first recollection is at the early age of 9 months, when lying on the living room carpet, the summer light ignited the threads of the carpet into a glorious dance of flame and golden colors. From that moment on she has been entranced with color in light.
Her mother, a fine art teacher, put colors into her hands before she could walk. As Marcelle grew up, her French grandmother’s impressionistic paintings had a vivid impact upon the development of her art. At age 15, after winning her first art competition from Paris ("The
Minuteman") and reconnecting with her family roots, she began to study art intensively.
Back in the states, Marcelle continued to study under professional artists and did her own research into the Old Masters techniques to achieve technical mastery. Her early works include reproductions of the 17th Century French and Spanish Masters, resulting in commissioned hotel and restaurant mural compositions and portraits. During this time she developed a unique style that combines the Old Master’s techniques with contemporary methods. Marcelle took a break from her art to raise her son as a single mother and then returned full time to concentrate on painting her two ongoing series in Imaginary Realism and Landscapes of Illumination.
Of her work, Marcelle says, “Something has been within me from the beginning, calling me to express the beauty and possibilities I see. I desire to make the familiar unique, the ordinary much more than extraordinary, and to brush overall an illuminating light upon reality in a way that may never have been seen before. Who is to present these avenues to him who is caught up in the daily fight for survival, but the artist who spends the chapters of his life making and remaking the world in the eyes of the beholder, opening doors to vistas never visited before. Our perceptions can be stretched and molded, even cajoled out of habit and routine into new paths of endeavor by each work of real art we encounter. I live every day out on a limb, braving the should-dos and out-gunning the must-dos, so that I can tap in to the feelings, needs, desires and fears that pulse like a hidden vein beneath the surface of our lives. Each art work is a page of my life held out to others endeavoring to rekindle the sparks of meaning, beauty, joy and transcendence that simmer at the core of each one of us.”
Marcelle has been represented by various galleries and her works reside in permanent collections in the U.S. and Worldwide. She is currently devoting all her time in the creation of her series of unique oil paintings that bring metaphor and the joy of color in light into play in tantalizing worlds of imaginary realism.
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Solo
Exhibitions
2001: Modern Surrealism" - The Art Collection, Los Angeles,
CA (USA)
1998: "Versatility in Media" - Santa Barbara, CA (USA)
1996: "Art Expressions" - Hollywood, CA (USA)
Galleries
1995: The Art Gallery, Glendale, California
1989: The Art Gallery - Los Angeles, CA (USA)
Venues
2011: Beverly Hills Art Affaire in the Garden, Beverly Hills, CA
1997: Celebrity Center for the Arts - Hollywood, CA (USA)
1991: Celebrity Center for the Arts - Hollywood, CA (USA)
Collections
Air France
Le Chateau Elysée, Hollywood, CA
B. Gilham Snr., private collection
N.D. Knox, private collection
Joy & John Taylor, private collection
Lissa Redmond, private collection
Awards
1976: First Place, Air France Bicentennial competition, Los Angeles, CA
(USA)
Education
1979: B. A., California State University of Northridge
1983: Studied with Larry Gluck, founder of Mission Renaissance School
of Art
2001: Studied with master painter, Frank Covino
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