Lorna Marsh

Lorna Marsh was a South African–born figurative expressionist artist known for powerful, emotive works that confront humanity’s destructive relationship with nature and society. Working primarily in mixed media on paper, she often used her hands rather than brushes, creating raw, tactile, and at times controversial imagery that explores environmental decay and the fragility of both animal and human life. Born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1949, Marsh trained with Royal Academy professors and studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. Blending surrealism and expressionism, her practice emphasized intense line work and expressive mark-making. Her techniques frequently incorporated collage and a direct, physical approach, what she described as a “mark within a mark,” resulting in richly layered, textured surfaces. Marsh’s work serves as a poignant commentary on environmental degradation, highlighting humanity’s encroachment on the natural world and the persistent tension between human existence and the animal kingdom.

LORNA MARSH

Lorna Marsh’s artistic vision was deeply influenced by her African childhood and her classical training, which included instruction from visiting professors of the Royal Academy and studies at the Art Institute of Chicago. Her technique was impeccable, and her perspective uniquely innovative, solidifying her as one of the most forward-thinking artists of her time. Each of her series offered new insights and subtle beauty, yet her underlying message remained clear—we are encroaching upon the natural world, and the consequences may be irreversible. A master of technique and emotion, Marsh varied her palette to intensify the tensions she sought to explore. She worked across both small and large scales, employing diverse materials to create striking impressions. Her legacy endures through a powerful and thought-provoking body of work, inviting reflection as our interface with the natural world becomes ever more pressing. Her work is held in esteemed corporate and private collections, particularly in Germany, Canada, the United States, and South America. She had numerous significant solo exhibitions, including at the Florida Museum of Hispanic and Latin American Art (Miami, Florida), the Jacobo Borges Museum (Caracas, Venezuela), the Real Monastery of Santa Maria de la Valldigna Fundació Jaume II el Just (Valencia, Spain), the João Ferreira Gallery (Cape Town, South Africa), the Aldo Castillo Gallery (Chicago, Illinois), and the Shanghai Art Fair, among many others.

Lorna Marsh, Western Dress II, Mixed Media on Wood, 2013, 84 x 48 in. The painting Western Dress II by Lorna Marsh uses striking visual metaphors to critique societal expectations of women. The subject's face is rendered anonymous and covered by a veil, while her eyes are physically placed lower down on the fabric of the dress. This arrangement directly reflects the concept that women often feel pressured to prioritize their outward layers, fashion, and social facades over their true, internal selves. By placing the eyes on the garment, the artist suggests that the clothing itself becomes the primary point of observation and judgment, reducing the individual to an object of display. The artwork builds tactile, heavy layers on the gown to emphasize its physical dominance over the figure. Measuring 84 by 48 inches, the life-sized proportions confront the viewer directly, amplifying the message of how overwhelming and consuming these external societal expectations can be.

Lorna Marsh, Predators, 2019 (Cage Series), Acrylic and Graphite on Canvas, 72 x 114 In.

Lorna Marsh (South Africa, 1949–2022) he r work profoundly explored the complex, often strained relationship between humanity and the natural world. Through powerful visual narratives, she revealed the tensions inherent in these interactions, focusing on the physical limitations imposed on animals and the subjugation required by human society. While her paintings often challenge the viewer, they also uncover hidden dimensions of the animal kingdom, offering thought-provoking insights and emotional depth.

Lorna Marsh, One Red One Yellow, Butterflies, Acrylic on Canvas, 36H x 48W In. The painting layers a dense cloud of butterflies amidst a fiery gradient of crimson, orange, and vertical dripping paint. Marsh frequently infused her abstract and surrealist wildlife themes with profound emotional weight. The imagery serves as a powerful metaphor for vulnerability and impermanence, reflecting on how even the most delicate and beautiful creatures are subject to the volatile forces of nature.

Lorna Marsh, Wild Dogs II, 2018, Graphite Acrylic on Clayboard, 18 x 24 In. Walt Disney’s portrayals of African animals weren’t always uniformly positive. Some characters were depicted less favorably than others. Similarly, in American history, groups such as the Ku Klux Klan engaged in discriminatory actions rooted in racial prejudice.

Lorna Marsh, Posed IV, 2018, Graphite Acrylic on Canvas, 55 x 78 In.

Lorna Marsh, Fish II, 2018, Graphite Acrylic on Clayboard, 18 x 36 Inches.

Lorna Marsh Flowers

Lorna Marsh, Wind, Ink and Acrylic on Clayboard, 18 x 24 In.

Lorna Marsh, Wild Dog with People, 2013, Mixed Media on Paper, 79 x 52 3/4 In. (The wild dog and women are crowding together almost as if afraid of a greater threat… they are allies. The butterflies could almost be born from the marking on the wild dog).

Lorna Marsh autographing a book for Reverend Jesse Jackson

Lorna Marsh presence, like her canvases, was larger than life. In her youth she was a stage actress and model.

South African Artist Lorna Marsh

Lorna Marsh in One of her Openings at the Aldo Castillo Gallery, Chicago, 2010

Lorna Marsh, Western Dress Queen Victoria, Collage on Wood, 2013, 84 x 48 in.

Butterflies by Lorna Marsh Transformation, Hope, Freedom, Beauty.

Lorna Marsh, Camouflage, Mixed Media on Canvas, 60 x 48 In.

Lorna Marsh, Cheetah, Cranes and Eagle.

Lorna Marsh was a master of technique and emotion, using a varied palette to heighten the tensions she sought to express. Working across both intimate and monumental scales, she employed diverse materials to create visually arresting and emotionally resonant works. Her legacy lives on through a powerful and thought-provoking body of art that invites deep reflection—especially as our relationship with the natural world grows increasingly urgent.

Lorna Marsh, Cheetahs, Discarded Landscapes, Acrylic on Canvas. Private Collection

Lorna Marsh, 9 Abstract Landscapes, Mixed Media on Paper, 23.5 x 26 ¼ inches each.

Discarded Landscapes Lorna Marsh The images that define Lorna Marsh’s artistic vision stem from her formative years in South Africa. The language that her art speaks is a continuum of a universal dialogue, which addresses man’s destructive relationship to himself, to nature and to other. Animals and nature are potent metaphors in Marsh’s aesthetic vocabulary, and they demand philosophical, political and ecological reflection, while resisting any literal translation. Her provocative works take the viewer on a reflective and metaphoric odyssey of the human condition, as narrated by the consequence it bears on the natural world.

Lorna Marsh, Dancers, Acrylic on Canvas. Private Collection

Right: Lorna Marsh, Menina, 2007, Collage and Acrylic on Paper, 42/ X 62/ in.

Lorna Marsh, Menina, 2007, Collage and Acrylic on Paper, 42 X 62 in. Private Collection

Lorna Marsh, Menina, 2007, Collage and Acrylic on Paper, 42 X 62 in. Private Collection

Lorna Marsh, Andy and Martha Sat Down Together, I, 2013, Mixed Media Collage on Wood, 48 x 48 in.

Lorna Marsh: A Tribute to Art, Decoration, and Legacy Lorna Marsh, Andy and Martha Sat Down Together, I (2013), Mixed Media Collage on Wood, 48 x 48 inches, offer a reflection on the groundbreaking accomplishments of Pop Art, the creative genius of Andy Warhol, and the art of decoration embodied by Martha Stewart. In this work, Marsh captures the dynamic interaction between Andy, the creator, and Martha, the decorator, blending iconic cultural figures with her distinctive artistic vision. A master of both technique and emotion, Marsh used a diverse and varied palette to heighten the tensions and complexities she sought to explore. Whether on a small or large scale, her use of mixed materials left a striking impression that resonated deeply with viewers.

Lorna Marsh, Girl with a Tiara II, 2013, Mixed Media on Paper, 43 x 63 In.

Lorna Marsh, Portrait of a Lady I and II, Mixed media on Canvas, 48 x 48 Inches each.

Lorna Marsh, Mother and Child I, 2012, Mixed Media on Paper, 60H x 40W In.

Lorna Marsh achieves her vision not only through the images she creates but also through her mastery of media. It is because of her classical discipline that Marsh possesses the prowess to manipulate her materials. Her hands wield the paints, which shape her images and are themselves the tools for application; nothing lies between Marsh and her surface. Consequently, Marsh's surfaces are layered - infused with abstruse images, which invite the viewer to form both emotional and intellectual connections with her work.

Lorna Marsh, Tethered Birds

The extraordinary animal paintings of Lorna Marsh, largely drawn from her native South Africa, are imbued with a hallucinatory intensity and ferocity. She convincingly conveys the tension of movement and countermovement of African herd animals, world's most endangered animals. Lorna Marsh was a keen thinker and delighted in testing boundaries, which she reflected in her art. Internationally celebrated, her works were often confrontational and explored such themes as mankind’s destructive relationship with nature. Her painting of a lion's head on a stake planted in a scorched landscape comes to mind.

WILDLIFE BY LORNA MARSH

LORNA MARSH FEMALE FIGURE

Lorna Marsh, American Child, 2012, Mixed Media on Paper, 60 x 40.5 In.

LORNA MARSH LANDSCAPES

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THE CAGE PAINTINGS SERIES Lorna Marsh’s series Cage Paintings (above) is a meditation on the ways in which our actions marginalize nature. Whether through direct imprisonment or the confinement of cultural iconography, animals are categorized and contained, their natures sanitized. Through her stark imagery, Marsh seeks to depict the impact of mankind’s policies toward the natural world. From muzzled predators to rabbits encased by Easter eggs, the artist presents us with an alternative view of the consequences of our grand design. Marsh’s collages of red devices symbolize the imposition of restraints and suggest the ramifications of the frameworks we foist upon nature. Through the very action of pasting a heavily wrought structure on her delicately lined images of animal, Marsh herself enacts the caging process. In the instance of the muzzled hunters, she suggests that the balance of predator and prey has been upended. If lions and wild dogs are no longer able to realize their evolutionary functions, what role do they play and how then are their former prey redefined? Even something as seemingly innocuous as the Easter bunny is not free from examination in this series. Here, rabbits are shown imprisoned by cultural iconography. Our acceptance of a language in which rabbits and eggs are inextricably entwined redefines the nature of the animal. Man’s attempts to protect the natural world may also cause irrevocable shifts in the order of things. Marsh explores the plight of the rhinoceros, whose protectors have resorted to removing its horn to save the animal from poachers. In this case, we have neglected to consider the impact of our actions upon the species. At the same time, our conservational efforts are distilled, emphasizing the horn; the body of the animal remains vulnerable. Ultimately, Marsh is asking us to question the ways in which we have rationalized our treatment of animals. And, in doing so, she invites us to consider how our “caging” of nature has compromised our own natures.

About Lorna Marsh

Lorna Marsh was born in Cape Town, South Africa and is considered one of the most important female artists of our time. Her early art instruction included courses with visiting professors from the Royal Academy and she also attended the Art Institute in Chicago. Having lived on three continents, her work has been shaped by many influences, but primarily by the human condition, animals, cartoons, which is the focus of many of her paintings. Her figures sometimes depict man’s interaction with the animal world and nature in illuminating ways. Marsh’s work is most closely aligned with German Expressionism and Surrealism. She has a love of line, which can be seen, in almost all her work. The surfaces are complex, often applied directly by hand, using a wide variety of media. Lorna Marsh’s work has been exhibited throughout the world, in solo shows in South America, Spain, the USA and South Africa and in- group shows in Italy and the USA.

Lorna Marsh, Lionesses with Man, 2006, Mixed Media on Paper, 24 x 31 In.

CREATURES OF THE EARTH: The Art of Lorna Marsh by Robert P. Metzger, Ph.D. The epic, ambitious paintings of Lorna Marsh deal with the continuous human condition which has relentlessly resisted discernible modification throughout the past millennium. Her thought-provoking meditations on how little the heart of man has changed after so many centuries is evident in her numerous series of paintings, including: "Man is the Trap Against Nature" (steel-jaw lion traps), "Tethered Flight" (kingfisher, sparrow hawk, and kestrel bound by string), "Cage" (muzzled animals), "Shrouded Visions" (draped people, animals, and landscapes)," Africa Within" (scavengers: jackal, hyena, dog, baboon, lion, and vulture), "Discarded Landscapes" (ecological warnings), "I am the Choicemaker" (Eve in the Garden of Eden), and "Firebirds" (conflagration of birds). Her unrestrained improvisation is apparent in her understated approach of eschewing the paint brush and applying her materials directly with her hands and arms. Using acrylic paint, oil stick, graphite, and wood stains and varnishes, she approaches each canvas with a masterful technique and ecstatic passion. Marsh's astonishing series of paintings are cautionary tales, reminding the viewer of the pitfalls of an Orwellian group-think. Her work advocates strongly for the logic and necessity of courageous individuality. Throughout our long history, each emerging generation has struggled to affirm life's full possibilities and to regain anew their common humanity. Marsh is keenly aware of mankind's shared longing for belonging and better ways of living. Life's very precariousness underscores her intense connection for the "Everyman" and with all of God's creatures great and small. Reforging the unity between art and meaningful existence, Marsh chronicles our mutual dreams and nightmares which expose our frailties and vulnerability. Her deep distress over human destruction of the earth and the subjugation of nature for self-centered greed place her in the vanguard responsible, principled artists worldwide. However, unlike the over-kill of much "in-your-face" overtly political art, Marsh's more subtle approach speaks to both the heart and the brain. Her quiet indignation is especially effective in exposing the evils of the catastrophic atrocities of war. The dark side of life is evident in many of her works, yet even the most brutal of these pictures contain a flicker of what Wordsworth referred to as "the still sad music of humanity." The universality of her voice is confirmed in these profound, brooding paintings and her background on two Continents has informed and enriched her ideas. Marsh's figurative expressionist style, with its roots in German Expression and European Surrealism, is also informed by the work of Robert Motherwell, Cy Twombly, and Antonio Tapies. In much of her work, such as in the Eve series, the human face appears partially or even fully expunged, heightening the sense of universality through the body. The female nudes exhibit interior anguish and turmoil and display the enormous toll of their difficult struggle. Each figure is distorted for peak emotional impact and dramatic effect. The extraordinary animal paintings, largely drawn from her native South Africa, are imbued with a hallucinatory intensity and ferocity. She convincingly conveys the tension of movement and counter movement of African herd animals such as wild dogs, hyenas, and baboons who forage for food and survive by traveling in packs. These animals, surrounded with abstract swirls, becoming a part of the painterly background of barren landscape. Marsh is especially attracted to these animals because of their endurance from ancient times, their freedom, and their ability to withstand severely discordant conditions. These creatures are the antithesis of commercially cute Disney animals. It is their very rough-hewn appearance that gives them a distinct dignity and nobility. Man's relationship with animals is a persistent and potent theme in Marsh's work, personifying the words from the Book of Job; "Ask the beasts and they shall teach thee, and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee." Marsh's images are a reminder of the beast within each individual and the divine spark in all living things. ABOUT ROBERT METZGER Robert Metzger, Director Emeritus of the Reading Public Museum, served in that capacity at the Aldrich Museum, theAllentown Art Museum, and the Stamford Museum and Nature Center and worked as Curator for W. Hawkins Ferry in Grosse Pointe, Michigan and for Lydia Winston Malbin and Richard Brown Baker in New York. He taught Art History at the University of Detroit and Bucknell University and studied at Columbia University, University of California, Los Angeles, Concordia College, River Forest, Illinois, Wayne State University, Detroit, Museum Management Institute, Berkeley, California, and the Victorian Society Summer School, London, U.K. He is the author of St. Petersburg Realism (U.S.S.R.), Ronald Reagan: American Icon, Abstract Expressionism Lives!, Edward Hopper: Early Impressions, Franz Kline: the Jazz Murals, and British Romantic Art and monographs on Arakawa, Nakian, Stamos, Boghosian, Tobin, Stubbs, Stuempfig, Murray, Namingha, Meneeley, Press, Coyer, and Strauser. In addition, he was the subject of the George Furth-Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical Company.