Photo – Kayapa Creative Studio

Marilou Palazon's New Exhibition Is A Theatrical Ode To Flowers

‘Unfurled’ at Sydney Road Gallery is a study of blooms by artist Marilou Palazon.

Writer
Bea Taylor
26th of October 2022

Sydney-based artist Marilou Palazon has unveiled Unfurled‘ – a new solo show at Sydney Road Gallery blooming with flowers and birds.

The exhibition of 11 pieces took her six weeks of dedicated work. ‘I can truly say my studio is my sanctuary,’ she says. ‘I just get lost when I paint and the time passes.’

The process of bringing her pieces to life is complex. Marilou creates all the imagery herself before painting. In fact, she often stages the subjects, adding petals and shaping the flowers using pins to create forms she sees as iconic. 

‘An entire show can take two weeks of gathering ideas, sketches, photographs and general concepts,’ she explains. ‘I adore this process and try not to rush it. It’s probably the most important stage of creating a show.’

The pieces themselves are a testament to this process. Treating them more like dramatic landscapes than delicate floral still lifes, Marilou explores texture and light play on a generous scale. 

‘By using an illogical large scale of otherwise delicate and small subjects, I can create a sense of awe,’ she says. ‘I like my viewer to fall into my images and travel along the surface of my paintings.’

To achieve this realistic – yet, not too hyper-realistic – style, Marilou developed a method adapted from years of work with oils. ‘I manipulate acrylic paint by using a series of mediums that extend the drying of the paint,’ she explains. ‘They also affect the sheen and richness of colour. This allows the works to have the same look as oil.’

The skill, Marilou explains, is to stop herself from completely blending the colours and paint strokes to allow brush markings to be left and let the surface speak. ‘This way, the paintings become more energetic and dynamic, rather than descriptive’.

Unfurled’ by Marilou Palazon
20 October – 6 November 

Sydney Road Gallery
451 Sydney Road
Balgowlah

Supported by Sydney Road Gallery

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