| “I grew up in
the African bush with no worldly influences to direct my artistic endeavour;
exploring as chance allowed. Then, as now, I would paint everything that
interested and excited me. Despite working in London through the “Brit
Art” era, I have continued to explore those paths ever since, simply
trying to capture that which appeals to my senses.
I paint and draw everything that interests or excites
me. There have been many who have suggested that I should specialize in
one genre or another but there is no critical consensus and as my work
is essentially reactive to the diverse world around me, there is nothing
to push me in any one direction.
Cape Town and its people, the surrounding countryside
and especially the sea have been a new experience for me over the past
five years. I have fallen in love all over again!”
I was born and brought up in Southern Africa i.e. what was then Northern
and Southern Rhodesia (now Zambia and Zimbabwe). For the first 16 years
of my life our family lived on mines firstly on the copper belt in Northern
Rhodesia and then on gold mines in the bushveld of Southern Rhodesia.
I have been drawing and painting since childhood.
I studied art and architecture in London, first at the Hornsey College
of Art and subsequently at Westminster University (Regent Street Polytechnic)
before returning to Africa for some years.
In Bulawayo, I taught art at the Adult Education Centre and also exhibited
my work in the National Galleries of Salisbury (Harare) and Bulawayo.
Since returning to Britain in 1975, I have continued working in many
different mediums and have exhibited widely, mostly with other artists.
My only solo exhibitions, so far, have been at the Royal College of Pathology
in Carlton House Terrace, London and in Bergerac, France.
My work is frequently exhibited at the Royal Free Hospital where there
is a permanent showcase of some of my prints. I have also exhibited work
at The University College Hospital, in several shows in Highgate, in Hertfordshire,
in the annual shows of Lloyd’s Art Group, with The Camden Printmakers
and in well-known London Galleries including:
The Mall Galleries (annual open exhibitions of the Royal
Society of Oil Painters, The Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour
and the National Print Exhibitions).
The Bankside Gallery (open exhibition of the Royal Watercolour
Society)
The Royal Academy (Summer Exhibitions)
Llewellyn-Alexander Gallery W1
W.H. Patterson Gallery Albermarle Street W1 (Venice
in Peril Exhibition)
I recently became a member of an art group in France “Les Artistes
du Perigord Pourpre” with whom I regularly exhibit at various venues
in South West France.
My work hangs in many private collections around the world.”
by Marilyn Southey
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