Marlene Siff will be at the Library to discuss her exhibition, Finely Tuned. There will be a reception in the Sheffer Gallery from 2 to 3 pm, followed by a conversation between Marlene and Miggs Burroughs in the Trefz Forum from 3 to 4 pm.
Finely Tuned will be on display in the Sheffer Gallery March 15 through June 10.
Timed to coincide with VersoFest, each of the five large dimensional works in Finely Tuned — Fanfare, Crescendo, Legato, Elegy, and Fugue — is named for, and linked to, a specific expression found in music. Visitors to the gallery will be able to scan a QR code next to each piece and listen to the musical selections that the artist used as inspiration.
“As a child, I studied classical music for over 10 years and have always listened to music while studying at school and working in my studio,” said Marlene. “My love of music inspired a desire to develop a new interpretation of music in art. These ideas were influenced by the rhythm, structure, and sounds of the musical compositions and songs I chose for each one of the interactive, multi-dimensional paintings.
“Working on 7 Finely Tuned + 1 became a creative, emotional, and spiritual adventure! My hope is to inspire strength, power, courage, and happiness at this particular time of great stress in our country.”
Born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx, Siff describes herself as being born with a paintbrush in hand. She attended the High School of Music and Art in New York City and earned a BA in Fine Arts from Hunter College, where she studied with Richard Lippold, William Baziotes, Raymond Parker, and William Rubin.
After graduation she began her professional career as a teacher, and then went on to create bed linen and kitchen collections for J.P. Stevens. After finding commercial success, she also designed kitchen and dining room collections for JCPenney.
Since devoting herself full time to her art, Marlene’s work has been juried into 153 competitions throughout the United States and has won 45 awards. Her work has been exhibited in museums, galleries, and universities throughout the U.S. and abroad, including the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, the Katonah Museum of Art, the New Britain Museum of American Art, the Mattatuck Museum, the Attleboro Arts Museum, Columbia/Barnard University, the University of Texas, the Walsh Art Gallery at Fairfield University, Eastern Kentucky University, and The Capitol building in Washington D.C.
Marlene’s work is also in the permanent collections of the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, the Housatonic Museum of Art in Bridgeport, B’nai B’rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum in Washington D.C., the Skirball Museum in Cincinnati, and in the Brian C. Nevin Welcome Center at Cornell University, as well as in many private collections. She works in her home-based studio in Westport.
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