Have you met…Mary Zeran?

“The Emergence of a Stronger Form”, 24″x24″x2″, acrylic, Dura-Lar on cradled panel, 2013

An introduction can be a wonderful thing. You can meet interesting people, and make new friends. You can be introduced to your new favorite foods, books, music, or artist.

I’d like to introduce you to some of my favorite artists. Some of whom I’ve been familiar with for years, and others I’ve only recently been introduced to.

The person I’d like to introduce is the artist Mary Zeran.

“Wood #15″, 7″x5”, acrylic, Dura-Lar on paper, 2013

Mary Zeran is an American artist. She lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

EDUCATION
1992                        Professional Development, The University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
1991                        M.F.A. The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
1988                        B.F.A. The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa

“Know More About”, 12″x12″x2″, acrylic, Duralar on cradled panel, 2012

Statement

“My paintings are a group that evolves over time. I paint on acetate, cut out shapes, and arrange them on a painted surface. This is a spontaneous and collaborative process that gives me the chance to be responsive to the cutting and gluing.

Everyday, I seal the current piece in a layer of glaze. I fix the image in time, one layer after another. My process repeats itself. It is cumulative.

My life like my artwork is a story of always coming back, spurts of moving out and then returning to the source, a circular migration pattern. Each time I return to Iowa, I am reminded of the fertility of the land. Although, I have lived in many cities, Iowa is the land of my heart. It is a soothing landscape of undulating hills, large puffed clouds, fields of one color, and the Mississippi River. Stepping back and take the long view, the aesthetic is minimal, but up close it is an active abstract filled with millions of living organisms and small worlds surviving together within the larger whole.

My work captures all of these varied worlds into joyful color, and luscious surfaces assembled into abstract collage. This is my way of interpreting the land, tapping into those internal rhythms and ways of being that are natural and spontaneous.”

-Mary Zeran