Marcella Marsella: Aqueous Bodies
August 29 – November 13, 2022
@ Macky

This exhibition explored trauma, healing, and close inspection through Marcella Marsella’s textile and collage-based practice. The artist used color as a vehicle to unite both aspects of her practice. Aqueous Bodies was about life, living, and making sense of the physical world through symbols and the use of color. The word “aqueous” can mean flowing, as life can be. Marsella’s body of work was meant to be physical. As we moved through the exhibition, we might physically feel a comfortable, childlike curiosity to explore the world around us. The artist’s hope is that the contrast of the lighter colors with the darker colors will make the journey through this space relaxing and easy, yet exciting. 

Marsella’s quilts are about the ways people use objects, such as textiles and blankets, to create a sense of security in their lives. These objects often provide security in our most vulnerable moments as adults, including traumatic experiences. They can bring us back to comfort and facilitate healing. When the world feels overwhelming, we utilize the tools we were given as children, such as quilts and decorative symbols, to bring us back to a sense of home. 

In her collages, Marsella uses bright colors to create two-dimensional worlds that reflect the all-encompassing vibrancy (hearing, smelling, seeing, tasting) in the real world. Her abstract motifs of fish and meat give life and dimension to this world. Through her work, we can begin to understand the comfort we find with bright colors, the reminiscent qualities of a quilt, and youthful reminders that bring us back to safety and reassurance. 

BMoCA at MACKY is a collaboration between BMoCA and The Andrew J. Macky Gallery, located in the foyer of the Macky Auditorium Concert Hall at the University of Colorado Boulder. The gallery is currently open Monday afternoons, Tuesdays and Thursdays 10am-4pm, and when there is a performance in the auditorium. The gallery is also open by appointment.