Long Beach, CA – As colors, shapes, and forms appear in flux, the illusion of space persists throughout the lyrical work of Marie Thibeault. Organized by the Long Beach Museum of Art, Conveyance: Marie Thibeault debuts the artist’s newly commissioned large-scale oil paintings. Living and working in Southern California, Thibeault is constantly informed by the changing landscapes and the environment surrounding her. Visual elements observed in the natural world are interpreted onto the canvas, intrinsically transforming the exterior into a metaphorical landscape. Accompanied by mixed-media works on paper, the exhibition poetically reflects on the harbors of San Pedro and Long Beach, providing viewers a meditative space for contemplation of oneself within the natural world.

Fueled by the monumental changes the artist has witnessed around the industrial landscape, Thibeault’s work intricately merges abstract and representational forms, employing visual references sourced from the harbors and the surrounding natural environment. From afar, the mounds of shipping containers and stratified cranes appear small and befitting against the familiar horizon, but up close, colossal and inordinate – this very tension and the overcoming of its uncertain ambivalence are personified through the artist’s adept skill in the medium and use of color. Starting with toning and underpainting the surface of the canvas, the layer upon layer process is guided by the artist’s mindful strive for vivid, expressive color palettes not necessarily aiming for balance in color, but rather a discord amongst the visual elements that bring forth reconciliation. Thibeault approaches painting as a means to simultaneously explore the past, present, and future, which cease to exist as any linear measure of time within the pictorial landscape. The atmospheric color shifts combined with architectural patterns, avian and geometric forms present a visual language powered by the artist’s instinctive state of mind and creative autonomy.