Marian J.A. Vieux – Eco-Portraits of Forests and Wetlands
On display September 8 to DECEMBER 23, 2026
Reception: October 8, 2026 from 6pm-8:30pm. Artist Talk: 6:30pm
Marian JA Vieux is a Wisconsin-based artist utilizing mixed modal assemblages and ephemeral land-art installations to detail nature’s design in the Great Lakes Region. JA Vieux’s work emphasizes vivid color and nature’s dynamic, recurrent patterns through which her abstract depiction of woods and grasslands is expressed. She invites the viewer to experience the sensory elements of nature—the reflections of water; the movement of clouds; and the textures of patterned perennial landscapes.
Show Description: Eco-Portraits of Forests and Wetlands is inspired by the forests, wetlands, and waterways of Wisconsin. The exhibition features vibrant colors, rich textures, layered patterns, and diverse artistic processes that create intricate visual landscapes. Together, these elements suggest an energetic fusion of human-made forms and the natural world.
Each artwork is the result of a sequence of actions—a compilation of digitized documents from my early Land Art installations that are printed onto textured canvases and layered with constructed assemblages. These time-centered processes create a dialogue between past and present, blending memory, material, and place. The resulting works simultaneously evoke both realism and fantasy.
By merging imagery from my Land Art installations with newly created assemblages, I have expanded the visual possibilities of the original works while deepening my aesthetic exploration of nature. This process allows for a playful conversation between natural environments and human intervention.
The interplay of shape and tone, the seen and the unseen, and what has yet to be experienced invites viewers into a broader dialogue about how we shape nature—and how nature, in turn, shapes us.
A Selection of works on exhibit
About the Artist:
Marian JA Vieux’s professional background includes fellowships at the MacDowell Colony, NH; Ossabaw Island, GA; as well as collegiate residencies in the Midwest. She created “Holding Space—Circling Pines” art installation at the Lynden Sculpture Garden’s Winter Carnival. This installation can be experienced throughout the seasons. Her artwork is held in both public and private collections; has been exhibited at Chicago’s Navy Pier; and has been featured in publications such as Public Art Proposals—Ecology and Art, sponsored by The International Sculpture Center and the NICAF, Yokohama, Japan.