MARA HELD is known for energetic yet delicate paintings on linen and paper depicting lyrical organic forms in vibrant colors. Her intricate line work and patterning evoke varied sources from plant life growing on ancient forest floors or pelagic forms found in coral reefs to Japanese woodcuts and Psychedelic posters. Held’s preferred medium is egg tempera, a painstaking technique mastered by Renaissance painters. Carter Foster, deputy director of the Blanton Museum, explains “It’s not a medium where you can sling the paint around. You can see the precision of Mara’s work even though the forms are not hard edged.”
Held's interest in the woven, primitive mark-making, and the grid, became the genesis of her current series of works, Straight Lines. Held began incorporating gouache with egg tempera, and the scale of her works on paper grew. She first starts by penciling in a ground resembling a grid, or a warp and weft, to act as an anchor for these improvisational pieces. She builds out the compositions restricting her marks to straight lines but forming with their edges a breadth of undulations and curves. The results are colorful and visually satisfying images that exemplify Held's skill as a painter and dedication to her craft.
Monkey Beholding the Sky, 2023
