Copyright 2023 © All rights Reserved.
Marlien Visagie was born in September 1984 and spent her early years on a farm in Vastfontein, 50km North of Pretoria North, where her imagination was nurtured through the beauty of nature and the outdoors. As a born creative, she was fascinated from an early age by the elements and finer details of everyday life surrounding her. As she grew up, she felt that her creativity was stifled through the conditioning to conform to the norms of society.
It was only when she embarked on her spiritual journey of self in 2015 that she discovered abstract expressionism art, allowing her true inner creative to be re-born.
In a world filled with control and chaos, she wishes to share the excitement of vibrant happy colours by completely letting go and surrendering all control through her art.
“As a self-taught artist, pure expressionism or intuitive painting is a form of creativity where one needs to fully surrender all forms or notions of control which many find very hard to do,” she says. This is where Marlien is in her element. She allows her intuition to guide her through the process of each and every painting, allowing her inner child, or any other part of her that needs to be present in that particular moment to be fully engaged in the creative process.
This playful artist works with acrylics, a dash of mixed media as well as oils, making use of a variety of utensils dependent on what is called for in the moment. For her it is also about experimentation, as she feels that there is no such thing as “a mistake” when creating artwork. She views a “mistake” as being guided in a different direction for the work of art to become what it wants to be.
Her work to date is filled with colour, texture and movement to represent the playfulness, inquisitiveness and exploration of seeing the world through childlike wonder, as if seeing something with fresh new eyes for the first time.
Each time you look at Marlien’s art, if you take the time to really look, there is something new to see and discover. This, Marlien hopes, ignites a feeling of joy, peace and wonder amongst her audience.
“We tend to be so serious, getting lost in the stress of life, that we forget to nurture our inner child. Many of us don’t even acknowledge that side of ourselves.” she says.
After moving to Johannesburg at age 6, Marlien eventually settled in the beautiful town of Plettenberg Bay in 2017. It was here where she stepped out of her comfort zone for her first solo exhibition at the Plett Arts Festival in 2018. She featured in the local newspaper, CXpress for a prize give away for one of her smaller pieces that was shipped to the winner in Canada.
Shortly after this, she participated in a group exhibition at Milkwood Framing and Gallery, as well as Arteriors in Plett.
She joined the Plett Arts Association in December 2018 and has collaborated in local outdoor exhibitions at Global Village.
Being blessed and humbled with the start of her art career, Marlien now finds herself back in the hustle and bustle of Johannesburg, Gauteng to continue her journey as an up and coming artist, sharing joy through her vibrant art.