Please join us for the opening reception, on Saturday, January 20th, from 5-7 PM at Marmo.

Marmo Gallery is pleased to present our inaugural exhibition, Transcendental Etude, featuring the work of Susan Aurand, Liza Brenner, J. Hukee, Annie Jones, & Katherine Ransom. The exhibition takes its name and inspiration from a poem by Adrienne Rich with the same title. In both the poem and the paintings, we are invited into a realm of introspection and taken on a journey toward a more profound understanding of our existence.

Rich writes, “No one ever told us we had to study our lives, make of our lives a study, as if learning natural history or music,” emphasizing the importance of self-knowledge for those who exist outside of, or who are misrepresented by Western recorded history. By exploring the lack of a documented natural, social, and experiential history of and for women, trans, and non-binary people, Rich illustrates the yearning for connection and self-discovery outside of patriarchal and heteronormative norms.

Rich uses the analogy of learning a musical etude to describe the process of self-discovery, beginning: “with the simple exercises first and slowly go on trying the hard ones, practicing till strength and accuracy become one with the daring to leap into transcendence”. Through practicing self-discovery as a method of healing, we find we are equipped to rediscover our own histories and renew all forms of relationships previously hindered by patriarchy.

Transcendental Etude illuminates a metaphysical transformation, a shift towards vision and creation. The poem evokes the image of a woman seated in a kitchen, embracing the tangible, everyday elements—yarn, scraps of fabrics, shells, and small natural objects. This act becomes a metaphor for the process of understanding life, not driven by the pursuit of greatness or brilliance, but by the intimate, careful attention to the manifold facets of existence. This is also political: though the objects we examine may be simple, we need not compromise our complexity or the ever-evolving nature of our identity in understanding ourselves through them.

Ultimately, Rich’s poem culminates in recognizing that life’s beauty lies not in grandeur, but in the intricate weaving together of multifaceted experiences—small, ordinary, moments intertwined with profound realizations. It beckons toward a deeper connection with life’s myriad forms, embracing the multitude of lives we find ourselves woven into—an intricate mosaic forming the very foundation of our being. Like the paintings in this show, RIch’s poetry reveals a form of feminist praxis: a canvas on which to map and expand the self’s horizons.