Marla and Christian

porto

Marla Sweitzer - Solstice, 2019. Oil on linen on board

Christian Vargas - Untitled, 2019. Ceramic

Marla Sweitzer - Marking Time, 2019. Oil on linen on board

Marla Sweitzer - Celestial, 2019. Oil on linen

Christian Vargas - Untitled, 2019. Cardboard, plaster, ceramic, and cement mortar

Marla Sweitzer - Shadow Movement, 2019. Oil on linen

marla sweitzer

Marla Sweitzer (b. 1989 Sarasota, FL) is a current MFA candidate in studio art at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She received her BA in studio art from Centre College in 2011.

artist statement

Sweitzer’s paintings explore color, touch and light through a repetition of mark. The paintings seek to make space for an inner and outward logic — where the outer world along the periphery brings one into center. At this center, Sweitzer responds to the movement of oil paint in a structure of meditative marks.

///

christian vargas

Christian Vargas (b. 1986 Fresno, CA) received his MFA in studio art from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2018. He received his BA in fine arts from Fresno State University in 2015.

artist statement

Vargas’ ceramic sculptures examine the power of belief and faith. By mimicking statues that can be purchased at swap meets and bodegas, Vargas uses clay and molds to create objects that layer symbolism in an effort to create his own folklore.