Nationality
American
Preview
Date of Work
2017
Medium
Oil on canvas
Signature
Side
Height
40"
Width
30"
Depth
1"
Collection/Provenance
Division of Research & Economic Development Collection
Status
Displayed
Location
Division of Research & Economic Development
Artist Bio
Marlene Llanes is a surrealist painter whose work juxtaposes everyday objects with natural elements to create grounded, dreamlike scenes. Her paintings rely on careful manipulation of light and shadow to build depth, while contrast lends order and simplicity to compositions that can otherwise be richly colorful. Llanes is known for the high level of finish and precision in her work, achieving a crisp, high-definition quality that rewards viewing at any distance. Alongside her surrealist paintings, she also produces realistic studies of nature and fruit. Her artistic influences include Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, and M.C. Escher.
Born in Morelia, Mexico, Llanes earned her degree in graphic design from Universidad Vasco de Quiroga in 1997. In 1998 she received a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue illustration studies in the United States, completing her MFA in Illustration at the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2000. Her professional career has spanned both fine art and commercial design: she has worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for newspapers, printing companies, advertising agencies, and publishers, and in 2002 wrote and illustrated the children's book Paty y los Payasos, published by Los Libros de El Nacional in Venezuela. She has also taught extensively, including college-level courses at the Art Institute of Austin, children's classes at Art Plus Academy, and private instruction for adults.
Llanes has exhibited widely throughout Texas and Louisiana, as well as in Mexico, with venues including the Hunting Art Prize in Houston, the Center for Contemporary Art in Baton Rouge, and the MSC Forsyth Center Galleries at Texas A&M University. In 2012 she was invited to Valloria, Italy, to contribute a painted door to the town's Outdoor Museum of the Painted Doors. Three of her works are held in public permanent collections, including those at the University of Houston-Clear Lake's Pearland Campus and the Savannah College of Art and Design. Llanes is a dual citizen of Mexico and the United States and currently resides in Austin, Texas.