Aleph Contemporary is pleased to present an online show of works by Enzo Marra.
‘Deluge’
Enter into the quirky world of Enzo Marra. His imagery is comic, reminiscent of Philip Guston’s post-war work, and the predicaments of his characters conjure up Samuel Beckett’s ‘pre-occupation with memory and its effect on the confined and observed self, as well as with the positioning of bodies in space’.
Deluge (Together) “Visible heads from two presences closely connected above and below the surface of the deluge. The stillness of the deluge they are held within, making it seem like a freeze frame, a stopped moment from where we cannot move on. The value of emotional connections emphasised by the direct portrayal of the two heads. The shared mouth giving them one voice, a willing unity stalled in time by the act of painting.”
Marra notes “I am in the process of trying to visualise the mental state of artists and the world they inhabit. Through masses of sketching and drawing and painting, a captivating image will appear and grow, and become something more real and tangible.”
Indeed an artist is an incongruous even alien figure in the art industry where billions of dollars are invested, and gambolled. The artist is a lone observer of this absurd world of which he tries to make sense. Although Marra’s paintings evoke the futility and despair of trying to make sense of it all, his unmissable irony makes us smile.
Enzo Marra was born in Bournemouth, on the south coast of England, in 1975
Marra holds his MA, Fine Art, University of Brighton, and his BA, Fine Art, University of Reading. The artist is the recipient of various awards and honours such as the Creekside Open, Beep Wales 2014, 2016, Swansea; John Moores Painting Prize 2016, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, Neo Art Prize, Gallery27, Bolton; The Threadneedle Prize, Mall Galleries, London, 2010, 2012 and 2013; and the 2012 John Moores Painting Prize, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.
Marra has an impressive international exhibition history spanning over ten years. Recent select solo exhibitions include: 139artspace, London, 2020; Hooligan Art Dealer, London, 2015 and 2018; System Gallery, Newcastle, 2018; Six Foot Gallery, Glasgow, 2017; Sun Pier House Gallery, Chatham, 2015; WW Gallery, London, 2011; and the Eaton Terrace Gallery, London, 2008. Select group shows: St Marylebone Crypt, London 2015-2018; PS Mirabel, Manchester; Inspire Gallery, Dublin; Gonzo Unit, Greece; Kryon Gallery, Amsterdam; Tianjin Academy of Fine Art, China; Van Der Plas Gallery, New York; Tichborne Gallery, Brighton; Galeria Esther Montoriol, Barcelona, 2014-2019.
