ON VIEW soon

Artist Statement | Richard Marr

“I received my MFA from the University of Chicago in 1983 and spent much of the 1980s in Asia. After focusing on work and family throughout the 1990s and 2000s, I returned more fully to my art practice after 2010.

I began by drawing and painting from my sailboat, creating images that conveyed the sensation of instability—the physical experience of being knocked about on deck as the boat heeled in the wind. Over time, my focus shifted from the boat itself to the water: the waves, their force, and their unpredictability. Eventually, I ‘jumped overboard,’ turning my attention entirely to the movement of water—waves crashing onto shore and colliding with one another.

Much of this work was created on the East End of Long Island, near where I grew up and where my wife, Caro—now my agent—was living when we met. In 2018, we moved to Rhinebeck, and my attention turned to the Hudson River. I became increasingly captivated by its geological history and its profound influence on both early and contemporary America.

As the river flows south into New York Harbor and merges with the ocean, it becomes part of a larger cycle—evaporating into clouds, returning as rain or snow, and eventually feeding back into streams and rivers. Within this endless circulation, the human notion of “progress” dissolves into the complexity of natural rhythms.

Because we are part of nature, we respond deeply to its movements—the wind through trees, waves breaking along a rocky shore, water flowing downstream. These experiences remind us of our connection to the world and to one another.

In my reading on climate and natural systems, I encountered Andrea Wulf’s The Invention of Nature, a biography of Alexander von Humboldt. Humboldt’s work, particularly in Cosmos, helped establish our modern understanding of nature as an interconnected global force. He wrote that the eye is not only the organ through which we see the world, but also how we interpret and define it.

While humanity has made great strides in understanding and shaping the natural world, we are now also confronting the consequences of those actions. Technological innovation alone is not enough—we must also shift our perspective on nature and our place within it. Art has an essential role to play in fostering that awareness.