Expressive Energy Harnessed: Margaret Glew

I have such a huge amount of respect and awe for artists who work in the abstract, especially gestural, expressive works like those of Toronto artist, Margaret Glew.

Animal Dreams, oil on canvas, 72x60

There is such an amazing amount of controlled chaos in each of Glew’s abstracts, they are fairly bursting with harnessed energy.  The scribbly lines and forms give her work a childlike essence, yet if you’ve ever tried to accomplish excellence in abstract painting, you know ( as I learned in college! ) just how difficult it can be.

Untitled, oil on canvas, 48x48

After all, Picasso himself once said “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”

Pitter Patter, oil on canvas, 60x60

What may seem to a novice eye like mere scribbles and marks are placed yes, perhaps intuitively but deliberately.  For Glew, each shape and line is a kind of shorthand.  She’s created her own visual language, telling her stories in texture, color and gestural expression.

Untitled, oil on canvas, 48x54

Untitled, oil on canvas, 48x48

And it is a story I could read over and over again!  To see more of Margaret Glew’s work, please visit her website.  Many thanks to Artsy Forager favorite artist Christina Foard for the introduction to Margaret’s work!

Featured image is Pitter Patter ( detail ).  All images are via the artist’s website.

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