Aping traditional academic positions, Marrinon’s coquettish figures are subtly subversive. Their thick limbs and roughly fashioned poses evoke an awkward diffidence. Critic Robin McKenzie observes, ‘Marrinon’s figures seem acutely conscious of the fact that they are on display—self consciously striking poses, being sculptures.’ 

Exhibition Dates: 7 February – 1 March 2008

In the 1990s Linda Marrinon worked predominantly in clay and terracotta, sculpting comically small scale landmark buildings and squat busts and figures incised with cartoon-like simplifications. Her enrolment at the tradition-minded New York Academy of Art (as part of a Samstag Fellowship) in 2001 marked a significant turning point for the artist. Introduced to the basic tools of figurative sculpture, Marrinon gained a greater technical understanding of human anatomy and the principles of motion. The very uprightness of her subsequent plaster sculptures (compared with the stocky characters of old) has allowed for an increasingly sophisticated repertoire of poses as witnessed in Figure Sculpture II. Marrinon’s latest cast model fashions from various eras, embodying Marrinon’s enduring fascination with the decorated body and the history of art

Aping traditional academic positions, Marrinon’s coquettish figures are subtly subversive. Their thick limbs and roughly fashioned poses evoke an awkward diffidence. Critic Robin McKenzie observes, ‘Marrinon’s figures seem acutely conscious of the fact that they are on display —self consciously striking poses, being sculptures.’  Their very scale undercuts the high aspirations of classical art, negating the heroic in favour of something more ordinary, manifest also in the ‘everyday’ materials—rope, cloth, leather - that constitute her characters’ various accessories. These attributes hint at the figures’ formative identities while each conveys sheer delight in the compliant act of physical touch. 

—Serena Bentley

Linda Marrinon has been exhibiting with Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery since 1983. In 2001 a solo exhibition of her paintings and sculptures was held at the Ian Potter Museum in Melbourne. Also in 2001, Marrinon was a recipient of the prestigious Samstag Fellowship which permitted her to study at the New York Academy of Art. Museum exhibitions include Australian Perspecta (1983 and 1999) as well as Wit’s end (1993) and Word (1999), both at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. Marrinon’s paintings and sculptures are held by the Art Gallery of South Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney and in numerous private and corporate collections. A monograph on Marrinon, written by Chris McCauliffe, is available as part of the Craftsman House New Art Series. Figure sculpture II is Marrinon’s eighth solo exhibition with Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery.

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Linda Marrinon Knight in chain mail, 2007; tinted plaster, leather; 79 x 25 x 28 cm; enquire
Knight in chain mail, 2007
tinted plaster, leather
79 x 25 x 28 cm
Linda Marrinon Woman in high-waisted pants, 2007; tinted plaster, paint; 73 x 25 x 17 cm; enquire
Woman in high-waisted pants, 2007
tinted plaster, paint
73 x 25 x 17 cm
Linda Marrinon Bree in Klute, 2007; tinted plaster; 77 x 23 x 19 cm; enquire
Bree in Klute, 2007
tinted plaster
77 x 23 x 19 cm
Linda Marrinon Cowboy with rope, 2007; tinted plaster; 80 x 17 x 16 cm; enquire
Cowboy with rope, 2007
tinted plaster
80 x 17 x 16 cm
Linda Marrinon Sunburnt man wearing cut-offs, 2007; tinted plaster; 75 x 23 x 21 cm; enquire
Sunburnt man wearing cut-offs, 2007
tinted plaster
75 x 23 x 21 cm
Linda Marrinon Woman wearing Jacobean ruff, 2007; tinted plaster; 79 x 25 x 15 cm; enquire
Woman wearing Jacobean ruff, 2007
tinted plaster
79 x 25 x 15 cm
Linda Marrinon Regency Venus, 2007; tinted plaster; 86 x 25 x 18 cm; enquire
Regency Venus, 2007
tinted plaster
86 x 25 x 18 cm
Linda Marrinon Outdoors woman dressed in pelts, 2007; tinted plaster; 75 x 26 x 18 cm; enquire
Outdoors woman dressed in pelts, 2007
tinted plaster
75 x 26 x 18 cm
Linda Marrinon YSL, 1986, 2007; tinted plaster; 76 x 24 x 28 cm; enquire
YSL, 1986, 2007
tinted plaster
76 x 24 x 28 cm
Linda Marrinon Horserider with pageboy, 2007; tinted plaster; 77 x 22 x 15 cm; enquire
Horserider with pageboy, 2007
tinted plaster
77 x 22 x 15 cm
Linda Marrinon Mary Magdalene at baptism, 2007; tinted plaster; 74 x 22 x 19 cm; enquire
Mary Magdalene at baptism, 2007
tinted plaster
74 x 22 x 19 cm