Reprinted by permission
ABQ Arts November 2002

Artist to Watch

By Steffanie Gibbons

Margi Weir

Margi Weir's ideas for abstract art come from painting and working with the sculptural aspects of paint. Interested in the interplay between pictorial space and three-dimensional space, Weir lays down acrylic paint on polyurethane, pulls it up when it's dry and pins it above a canvas that has been painted. As a result, there's paint on the picture plane and in the sculptural space in front of the picture. In describing Weir as an artist, Albuquerque Journal art critic Wes Pulka wrote, "Weir belongs to the postmodernist and postmark school of abstraction." Her work "is a complex construction of separate acrylic brush strokes that are pinned like butterfly specimens to her canvas."

Medium:

Weir paints exclusively with acrylic paint, and describes herself as a painter concerned with the inherent qualities of acrylic paint that make this material different, more versatile and more flexible than its predecessor, oil paint. "I like to push the boundaries of my materials to see what they can do," she said.

Goal:

Weir's goal as an artist is to continue her "experimental journey in expressing with paint the nature of my 21st century reality." More immediately, she is preparing for a solo show at O.K. Harris in New York City next spring and attempting to expand the audience for her work throughout the country.

Background:

Weir has exhibited her work in solo shows throughout the country,most notably at the Ruth Bachofner Gallery in Santa Monica, California; the Still-Zinsel Gallery in New Orleans and Arnesen Fine Arts in Vail, Colorado. Last summer, renowned art dealer Ivan Karp of O.K. Harris Works of Art in New York City contacted Weir afrer seeing one of her paintings in a small works show in upstate New York. Karp has scheduled a solo show for Weir in NYC next May.

Where to see her work:

In Albuquerque, Weir's work can be seen at the Maripoisa Gallery and the Dartmouth Street Gallery.