Anne Marchand was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. She says that growing up in such a colorful environment, redolent with Spanish, French, and African influences, left a lasting impression on her color sensibility. She traveled widely throughout the South, which had a similarly profound effect on her developing visual vocabulary of form and color derived from nature. She earned a bachelor’s degree in art from Auburn University in 1971 and a master of fine arts degree from the University of Georgia in 1975. Since the mid-seventies, she has lived and worked in Washington D.C. She and her artist husband have traveled widely, experiencing the visual cultures of Europe, Central America, India, and Thailand. All have served as inspiration for her art.

Her vibrant, colorful, large-scale abstract paintings are alive with shifting space, moving color, and animated lines. They reflect a range of perspectives: images of deep space, views from airplanes and automobiles, perceptions of natural and manmade textures and patterns, along with their emotional resonances, all distilled together. Her mature work is the result of years of experimentation, particularly with acrylic mediums and interference and pearlescent pigments. With these materials, qualities of radiance and light became active metaphors reflecting an inner state of being. Images of planets from the Hubble telescope inspired the painter to introduce circular imagery into her work. The nebulas and galaxies suggested biological structures, and Marchand realized the connection between space and the body as manifestations of the same universal energy. Her paintings capture a sense of wonder, introspection, and imagination.

She has written, “Space, color and mystery are calling cards to begin the work of layering materials on canvas. Moving with both conscious and spontaneous actions, I combine themes of spirit and matter. My choice of materials conveys transparent layers and depth of meaning reflecting the mysteries of creation and destruction. The painting process is metaphor for patterns emerging in nature and from invisible forces. I am drawn to images that open the viewer to questions about personal experience, consciousness and transformation.”

Marchand’s work has been recognized with many honors and awards, is included in corporate and private collections across the country, and has been exhibited widely in museums and galleries from New York to California. She teaches private classes and maintains a studio in Washington, D.C.

(Information and quotes from the artist’s biography and artist statement, annemarchand.com)