Marie Zolamian, Droomland, C-Mine Genk, les images (3)

Marie Zolamian, Symbiocene, 2022. PaonLin on canvas, 3 x 13.45 m

Her work finds itself at the distinction between colourful, familiar scenes, art historical references, and a déjà vu-like dreamy world where mysterious silhouettes and creatures appear. Like a fictitious ethnologist she keeps an observational images diary, for which she draws inspiration from daydreaming, testimonies, local history or cultural customs linked to the place from which she works. In preparation for her solo presentation at Jester, the artist briefly stayed at the Emile Van Dorenmuseum, where she soaked up the stories that enfolded the Genk tradition of landscape painting. Here, ‘Bezoekt droomland Genk’ (translated as ‘Visit dreamland Genk’), a slogan from an old tourist advertisement, caught her attention. Buried in the city’s recent mining and industrial past, one would almost forget that at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century Genk was known as a ‘station d’artistes’, where the vast nature and rustic life appealed to the imagination and attracted visitors, especially artists, from home and abroad. To this day, this post-industrial region boasts enormous biodiversity in and around its various nature reserves. For Zolamian, nature is imaginary. Her pictorial semblance celebrates diversity and crossing, which for her are a pretext for painting. For Droomland, the artist takes over Jester’s exhibition space. While in the studio smaller canvases are a familiar starting point, Zolamian will work in situ on a monumental creation in the weeks before the opening. Layer after layer, a landscape will be shaped. Playing with camouflage, approach and resistance, this large-scale work offer – despite its scale – an intimate glimpse into the mysterious universe expressed in Zolamian’s oeuvre.

Marie Zolamian, «Potron-minet», 2022, Oil on canvas on frame, 52 x 61 cm
Marie Zolamian, «Minar painter» (A. Lesage), 2022, Oil on canvas on frame, 40 x 30.5 cm
Marie Zolamian, «Bruin», 2022. Keramiek, 4 x 12 cm
«Sédition», 2016 Oil on paper on canvas, 17 x 24 cm
Marie Zolamian, «Parelmoer», 2022. Keramiek, 12 x 4 cm
Marie Zolamian, «Geribbeld», 2022, Oil on canvas on frame, 40 x 29 cm
Marie Zolamian, «Fluistering», 2022. Keramiek, 15 x 9 cm
Marie Zolamian, «Koek en ei», 2022, Oil on canvas on frame, 61 x 52.5 cm
«Sauter sur le râble», 2022 Oil Marie Zolamian, on canvas on panel, 31 x 41 cm
Marie Zolqamiqan, « Michel-Jacqueline », 2019, Oil on paper and frame, 16 x 17 cm