Artist Statement

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As a youth in my native Argentina, I found art to be a playful antidote to my strict upbringing and formal education. As an adult, I have rediscovered this love of creating, painting simple forms that evoke natural elements and organic shapes. 

When I enter the art studio and pick up my paintbrush, I reconnect with an inner calm. The studio becomes my escape, painting my refuge. It is this sense of restoration that I wish to impart through my work. I want my paintings to become a shelter from the stimuli of modern life, a place of simplicity. I often paint using tones of white, grey and black because these express minimalism and restraint, and for me they are inviting. The dreamy elegance of the high fashion world also captures my interest. And I am inspired by the landscapes of the San Francisco Bay Area where I live now: the poetic qualities of fog, the quiet of the water, the tranquility of trees, horizons and organic forms. 

                            Marti Cilley