Marina Savashynskaya Dunbar is an abstract artist based in Charleston, South Carolina. She often thinks about painting in three dimensions, rather than two. When engaging with the surface, she considers how the arrangement and folds of the canvas will influence the composition.
The process is as rooted in the physical construction of form as it is propelled by the medium’s inherent fluidity. The title of one of her exhibitions –Fluent Form– refers to the practice of exploring opposing concepts such as density, fragility, continuity, and impermanence within the same material.
“As one progression leads to the next, I study the medium without premeditation, remaining sensitive to nuances within the process.” Says Marina. Natural elements such as dry pigments and sand are introduced in her paintings.
Sand is a physical object, yet its existence is a representation of the passage of time. It is the result of rock erosion and it is a material that continually assembles into new patterns. In the Buddhist tradition, and is used to convey beauty and ephemerality through the construction and subsequent destruction of mandalas. Using these themes as anchors of inspiration, the works evoke impressions of dunes, flora, and natural phenomena while departing from a faithful rendering of reality.
“The paintings and sculptures are a meditation on movement, time, and transformation.” Says Marina. The work encourages observers to reflect on the notion of time: how a fleeting moment may be preserved within the union of color and form