Marybeth Rothman
Exploring identity utilizing shapes inspired by nature, combining abstraction and realism with metaphor and symbolism.
The integration of orphaned, vintage photographs, digital photography, abstract drawings and encaustic paint in my work occurs simultaneously as a dialogue develops among these elements. The mixed media approach to my work is both additive and subtractive; employing many subtle layers to form an amalgam of biographical texture. The facial expression and posture of the figure in the photographs influence my palette, the lines and marks that I make to create the narrative abstract drawings and paintings. As I work, these disparate elements transcend the physical attributes of the materials and become one brush for me to paint these portraits of strangers.
The Hobby Horse was the first African American book store in the United States, established in Harlem in 1930 during the Harlem Renaissance. This rich intellectual and cultural period in African American history occurred in the Harlem borough of New York City during The Great Migration. From 1915 to 1970 six million African Americans […]
After the sudden and unexpected incident, a few residents of Sumner’s Place began to leave.It was obvious to everyone that life in this small town could not continue in this way. Someresidents had to stay and some had to go. This series of paintings tells the story of whathappened and […]
The genesis of this series is a compelling, vintage portrait of an Asian family in the midst of a cultural transition. Curiously, each member of the family revealed their cultural identity with the clothing they chose to wear for the portrait. The father wore a conservative, western business suit, the […]
This series features women I photographed on the streets of Manhattan and at the Steam Punk World’s Fair. In the studio I combined my street portraits, with other photographs of hats, ribbons, flowers, assorted objects, abstract drawings and vintage ephemera that were digitally altered, combined and repurposed and created this […]
The Longford Journals are deconstructed narratives that record a few days in the livesof my imagined Longford sisters. During the 1940’s, these sisters, were the Longfordlighthouse keepers and dance troupe. The Longford Lighthouse was built in 1857 on theArthur Dewey Longford family farm on the Massachusetts coast. In the years […]
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