Marilyn Henrion

Artist Statement:

Throughout the ages, man has sought some measure of immortality in the works they leave behind when they are gone. At the age of 92, that is especially on my mind as I create my legacy.....my works speak of my life....”the poem I would have writ”, to quote from Thoreau. In my Innuendo series, created in 2024, I am particularly inspired by the beauty of nature and the way it intertwines with man-made structures. The juxtaposition of organic shapes and man-made elements spoke to me, and I knew I had to capture that in my art. The process behind

its creation of my work is unique. . Starting with my original photographs, I digitally manipulate the image, then print it on organic cotton sateen and hand quilt the three layers . The end result are works that truly blurs the lines between photography, painting, and textile art. Inn the Innuendos series I am often conflicted about how much abstraction I want to employ. A fascination with the detail in the subject depicted vies with the the personal emotional component conveyed in the abstraction. This conflict resonates with the poem by Wallace Stevens, from which the title of the series is derived;
I do not know which to prefer,
The beauty of inflections
Or the beauty of innuendos, The blackbird whistling
Or just after.”

Artist Bio:

Born in 1932, Marilyn Henrion is a graduate of Cooper Union and Fordham University. She is represented in the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Art and her works are included in museum, corporate, government and private collections internationally. A lifelong New Yorker and resident of Greenwich Village, she relocated to Plano Texas in 2022 at the age of ninety.