ABOUT MARILYN STEVENSON
Artist Statement
Exploration is the word that best describes my continuing study of photographic light drawings, a style in which I have been working on for over twenty years. In this work I use my camera as a drawing tool. Through small gestural movements, I manipulate my camera to create compositions of linear networks which project a sense of light, energy and movement; thereby forming patterns that invite a host of subjective interpretations.
Through this technique I am able to fully expand upon my exploration of abstract form, color, movement and spatial relationships. Creating these images on film, without computer manipulation, is the innovative direction in which I take contemporary photography. By moving photography closer to painting, I enable photography to transcend its documentary function to make imaginative, subjective statements.
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Marilyn Stevenson studied art & photography at the International Center of Photography and The School of Visual Arts.
In addition to pursuing her own fine art she had been curator and assistant director at New Century Art Gallery in Chelsea since 2001. Marilyn has curated exhibits at Gracie Mansion and The Salmagundi Arts Club both in New York City. Currently she curates local exhibitions annually for East End Photographers Group and Southampton Artists Association at such places as Ashawagh Hall in East Hampton, The Watermill Museum in Watermill, N.Y. and Southampton Town Hall.
Stevenson has served as Art Director, Graphic Designer and Technical Illustrator for a number of national magazines. Her book cover designs have been published and her graphic renderings of inventions have been used in many patents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Washington D.C.
Marilyn has had twenty solo exhibits and over eighty group shows throughout the United States. Her first international exhibit was in Graz, Austria. She was the recipient of New York State Foundation for the Arts, Special Opportunity Stipend Grant. She received the honorable mention award at the 2010 Women in Photography International Annual Juried Exhibit; awarded first prize at the 36th Annual Juried Exhibit among many other awards. Stevenson has received several honorariums serving as juror for many arts organizations. Her photography is held in many private collections.