Scott Marr | Turtle
Turtle | 2024
Natural pigments, ochres, and minerals on canvas on board
60 x 60 cm
$3800
Scott Marr | Artist Statement
Though I’ve briefly studied art at Julian Ashton Art School and TAFE, I think of myself more as a self-taught artist. My early studies allowed an insight to the foundations and practice of drawing but it was ongoing experimentation that led me to my current media, pyrography and natural pigments.
Pyrography is the practice of burning an image onto a surface, using specially designed tools. I work mostly on paper but I also enjoy working with wood.
The pigments I use are all handmade from natural materials, most of which I collect from the bush near my home, the roadside, the garden and sometimes even the kitchen. Some of my favourite raw materials include ochres, sap, flowers, bark, leaves, coffee beans and berries. Part of my processing technique is to add natural mordants (fixatives), preservatives and binding substances.
I’ve been a practicing artist for 15 years now and my work has of course changed a lot over this time. The first few years were spent obsessively trying to master realism, from photorealism to surrealism. One thing that has remained fairly constant is my subject matter; my work is usually about the intricacies of nature and our place in it.
Scott Marr | Biography (Born 1976, Sydney)
Selected exhibitions:
2011 – Group exhibition at Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, New York
2011 – Solo exhibition toured Europe in conjunction with Osunlade’s ‘Pyrography’ album launch
2011 – Solo exhibition at Lost Bear Gallery, Leura, NSW
2011 – Group exhibition at Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2009 – Solo exhibition at SH Contemporary, Shanghai, China
2009 & 2008 – Solo exhibitions at Katoomba Fine Art, NSW, Australia
2006 – Collaboration with Virginia Kaiser, Katoomba Fine Art, NSW, Australia
Awards & prizes:
2011 – Finalist, Salon des Refuses, SH Ervin Gallery, Sydney
2010 – Finalist, Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, State Library NSW.
2010 – Commended for Originality, Lethbridge Small Works Prize, QLD.
2010 – Finalist in Williamstown Festival Contemporary Art Prize, VIC.
2008 – First Prize, Works on Paper, Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize (S.A. Museum)
2008 – Awarded one-month Donald Friend residency at Hill End, NSW (Bathurst R.A.G.)
Publication & media coverage:
“Craft Arts International” Magazine – portfolio featured in March 2011 edition (issue 81)
“Kismet” Magazine – featured in the June 2010 edition
“Behance” artists’ network website – featured artist (twice), May 2010
“Semi-Permanent” book – work featured in 2010 1st and 2nd editions
“A Short Film on Scott Marr” – aired numerous times on TVS 2009 & 2010
“A Year in the Life of an Artist” – blog on Scott Marr by Mary Canning, 2009-10
Education:
1996 – Julian Ashton Art School
Media
BLUE MOUNTAINS CULTURAL CENTRE ACQUISITION.
ETERNAL MUSE (JENNY KEE)
Scott Marr studio time lapse
