| Chandrika Marla is a visual artist who is best known for her vibrant color field paintings that explore the feminine. She is inspired by women, their relationships with others, and with their own selves. As she paints, she draws on memories of events, conversations and emotions to compare relationships between people, the outer and inner self, the individual and society. Her reductive abstractions of the female form dwell upon the philosophical and emotional nature of color and memory.
Viewing Marla's work, Maria Porges has noted, "Like Rothko, she believes that color can serve as an instrument to fulfill a greater purpose. For her, part of that purpose is to celebrate women's ability to rise above trauma and loss and become what they are truly meant to become." Diane Thodos, Neoteric Art, has written, "The more simple Marla's abstractions are, the more they become purely essential states of mind. Pulsating with a life of their own, they reflect an emotional wisdom about human intuition, and the ever-changing nature of feelings and moods as seen through the prism of ancient Indian aesthetics."
Marla's work has been exhibited at The de Young Museum (California), Queens Museum of Art (New York), Museum of the Shenandoah Valley (Virginia), and the Rockford Art Museum (Illinois). She moved to the United States in 1998 and is currently a resident artist at Cubberley Studios in Palo Alto.
Sanchez Art Center's Artistic Director and exhibition curator, Jerry Ross Barrish, notes, "For me, Chandrika Marla's paintings create an aura. I cannot get away from her palette, shapes and feminine message. I look forward to the gallery filled with vibrant energy."
Chromatic Edge will conclude with an artist's talk on Sunday, June 30, beginning at 3:30 pm.
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Sanchez Art Center is located at 1220 Linda Mar Blvd in Pacifica, about a mile east of Highway 1. Following opening night, the galleries are open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 1–5 pm, and by appointment, through June 30.
The opening, talks, and gallery visits are free as part of the Center's focus on "Creating Community through Art".
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