Marlene Tseng Yu Self Portrait in front of "Winner Takes All"
SHREVEPORT, La., February 4, 2015— The Rainforest Art Foundation partners with the Meadows Museum of Art at Centenary College in exhibiting Marlene Tseng Yu’s The Dream Series from February 21 through May 2, 2015. The public is invited to a free opening reception for the artist on Saturday, February 28 from 5-7 pm. Marlene Yu will speak about her artwork at 5:30 pm.
The Dream Series by Yu is the fifth exhibition of the “Lucky Sevens” series, namely seven different exhibitions at seven local venues in honor of Yu’s 77th year. Yu, a native of Taiwan and participant in the New York City art scene for much of her life, founded the Rainforest Art Foundation to raise environmental awareness through art. She is now honored by the Marlene Yu Museum in downtown Shreveport, one of the few museums in the nation dedicated to preserving and curating the work of a single artist.
Marlene Yu states, “The techniques may vary greatly from painting to painting, as to embody the scope of my expression. The reference to nature is the focus of all my paintings.” Many of her paintings, including those already exhibited throughout Shreveport, depict colorful abstractions based on natural forms.
The Dream Series, created in the 1980s, is unusual in Yu’s large body of work, however. It is more representational than abstract, with a focus on nature and human relationships. In the Meadows’ exhibition, the female body is surrounded by animals that symbolize the male aspect, creating a dreamlike meditation on love.
Art critic, editor, and poet Cynthia Nadelman commented on The Dream Series: “Marlene Tseng Yu’s dreams seem suspended in a watery medium…. And indeed they are. Limpid and floating as this world of hers may seem, though, it is rendered in clear crystalline strokes before her water-based media – watercolor and water-thinned acrylic on large sheets of saturated paper – have a chance to dry. Rather than coaxing and worrying paint, the artist uses the time she has to illustrate visions from her mind’s eye. Occasionally, she accentuates the images with pencil or ink.”
About the Rainforest Art Foundation
The Rainforest Art Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit with the mission to increase appreciation of nature through art. For information, contact: Iris MacLean, Public Relations at the Rainforest Art Foundation and Marlene Yu Museum, 318-840-5213, or irisrainforestart@gmail.com. For additional events, see www.marleneyumuseum.org and www.rainforestartfoundation.org.
About the Meadows Museum of Art
The Meadows Museum of Art is located on the campus of Centenary College of Louisiana at 2911 Centenary Boulevard in Shreveport, LA. The Museum is free and open to the public Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 am-6 pm and Saturdays from 12-4 pm. For more information or to schedule fieldtrips, call the Museum at 318-869-5040 or visit www.centenary.edu/meadows.
"Reaching for Sleeping Beauty", 1984, Acrylic on paper, Dream Series