MARION HARPER

Marion Harper’s paintings seek to address, dissolve and reform ideas about embodiment. Her compositions depict interactions between body parts, both human and nonhuman, in the negotiation of sharing space, exposing the everchanging essence of what it means to be a human.

Soft limbs and languid poses poke through and slump against carboard boxes. Harper’s figures protrude from impossibly small spaces, raising questions about resilience, and the ability to adapt to circumstance. The human flesh conforms and gives way to the geometries of the environment, which Harper composes like a staged set. These constructed modular environment provide a duality of child-like playfulness and physical obstruction within the picture plane.

Painting for more than 20 years, Harper’s practice began as a detailed investigation into abstraction, but now extends to video, installation, ceramic and photo-based media. She completed her MFA (Research) at the Victorian College of the Arts in 2024 and holds a BFA in painting (VCA). Her works are held in the QUT Collection, the Latrobe University Collection, and in private collections.

AVAILABLE WORKS

CV

MARION HARPER
1963, lives and works Merricks, Victoria

QUALIFICATIONS
2024 Master of Fine Art (Research), Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne
1994 Bachelor of Fine Art (Painting), Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne
1991 Associate Diploma of Visual Arts, Swinburne University
1987-90 Bachelor of Arts, Honours (philosophy and political science), Monash University

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 Restless Encounters, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery
2023 A Misfit Choreography, VCA Artspace, Melbourne
2020 Marion Harper Recent Works, Kleinerfelt, Tristian Koenig Gallery, Melbourne
2018 I Am Scattering Like Light, fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne
2009 Shimmer, Dogg Projects, Melbourne
2007 Otherland, Talk Gallery, Melbourne
2005 Inner Eye, Dogg Projects, Melbourne
1998 Default, Centre of Contemporary Photography, Melbourne
1998 Cartouche, Basement Gallery, Melbourne
1996 Olivine, Basement Gallery, Melbourne
1993 Morphic Resonances, Temple Gallery, Melbourne

GROUP AND AWARD EXHIBITIONS
2024 Porter St Launch, Gallerysmith, Prahran
2023 Blue Period, One Star Gallery, Melbourne
2023 Hcraeser, VCA Art Space, Melbourne
2022 Airlock, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Victoria
2021 Finalist, Mary & Lou Senini student art award for ceramics, McClelland Gallery, Victoria
2021 Finalist, Bayside Acquisitive Art Prize, Bayside Gallery
2021 Holding Ground, Silver Leaf Art Box, Victoria
2020 Summer Show, ArtBox, Tasmania
2008 Bunker, Linden Contemporary, Melbourne
1998 Respond Red or Blue, curated by Lauren Berkowitz, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne
1998 Logos, 25 Artists videos, Danius Kesminas + Ben Morieson, Adelaide Biennale
1998 Teststrip, Auckland
1997 Foldback, Ngapartji Multimedia Centre, Adelaide
1997 Artrage, Artworks for Television curated Kim Machan, screening on ABC's Rage Overnight, IMA Brisbane, EAF Adelaide, PICA + Umbrella Studio Townsville
1996 Christ I'm Pissed Off, Stop 22 Gallery, Melbourne
1996 Beyond Belief, Stop 22 Gallery, Melbourne
1996 Cutouts, Stop 22 Gallery, Melbourne
1996 Rumble, curated by Stuart Koop, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne
1996 Photoposters, Centre for Contemporary Photography, various sites
1995 Labyrinths, curated by Rachel Kent, Platform, Spencer St Station, Melbourne
1994 Critical Mass, curated by Shiralee Saul, Arts Victoria Gallery, Melbourne
1994 e-Topia, New Media Network, Southgate, Melbourne
1994 Projection: Filming the Body, curated by Natalie King, Basement Gallery, Melbourne
1994 Momento, New Media Network, Southbank, Melbourne
1994 Don't Stop, Linden Contemporary, Melbourne
1994 Plastiche, Basement Project, Melbourne
1994 Club Tractor, Arts Access Gallery, Lions Arts Centre, Adelaide
1993 Luminaries, Monash University Gallery, Melbourne
1993 Vitae, RMIT Gallery Melbourne, Melbourne
1993 Crashcourse, Access Gallery, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
1992 Images of Women, Gryphon Gallery, Melbourne University, Melbourne

AWARDS GRANTS AND COMMISSIONS
Mornington Peninsula Artist in Residence at Police Point
Melbourne University Faculty of Fine Arts and Music Completion Scholarship
Arts Victoria Digital Media Projects
Australia Council Development Grant
Visual Arts/Craft Board of the Australia Council
Australia Council Arts Project Grant
Pat Corrigan Artists Grant
National Gallery Women's Association Award, Trustees of the National Gallery of Victoria
Trustees of the National Gallery of Victoria, Folio Award

COLLECTIONS
Latrobe University Collection
Queensland University of Technology Collection