Description
Renowned LA based artist Liz Markus has crafted a signature aesthetic through the recurring use of thin washy layers of acrylic paint in purpose of depicting pop cultural signifiers. Throughout her career the subject matter of the works continue to fluctuate but often take on the formal qualities of portraiture even when the central image is not necessarily figurative. Past and on-going series of paintings include motifs such as Kermit the frog, cavemen, portraits of socialites, and more. One of these series of paintings that she has focused on for the past several years, and which she has gained attention for, are the T Rex paintings.
Markus’ enigmatic T Rex paintings stem from the ubiquitous Halloween costume more than from actual interpretations of the dinosaur in illustrations or films. The artist remains more interested in images of people wearing the floppy, contorted, whimsical costumes and interpreting this energy into her canvases, as opposed to the ferocity often associated with images of the dinosaur. As the artist has continued to investigate this subject matter and push the methods in which the imagery is constructed, the paintings have become more abstracted in their appearance, more psychedelic in their aesthetic, and have taken on more of a conversation with fluid color field painting as well as gestural Ab-Ex works. The canvases have continued to become more of a conduit for an on going conversation with art history, as well as subcultural rebelliousness opposed to being about the depiction of the T Rex.
Markus gives as much credit to the influence of punk and grunge culture for the aesthetic output that she creates as she does to the previously mentioned art historical moments.
Markus has had solo exhibitions at The Unit London, Maruani Mercier, Brussels, Nathalie Karg, New York, ZierherSmith, New York, White Columns, New York, Loyal Gallery, Stockholm among others.
IG: @lizmarkusstudio