Marina Dunbar

Fiction

2023

Marina Savashynskaya Dunbar is inspired by the works of Paul Jenkins and Morris Louis. She was born in Minsk, Belarus and moved to the United States when she was nine. Based in Charleston, South Carolina, Dunbar graduated with a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Columbus State University. Her relationship with her medium is very physical. The surface of a painting is bent, manipulated and twisted to guide the paint, granting the process a sculptural quality. Through simple gestures of pouring and removing paint, gravity shapes the lines and forms. Her paintings are abstract but the sequential application of color grants her work a narrative component. The beginning and the end can be seen simultaneously. Initial shapes recede into space as they are enveloped by veils of subsequent colors. Marks hovering on top are the finish line. Each emerging form is a response to the last; a visual conversation. Sometimes the result is an echo of contours, at other times it’s a chorus of contradicting movements and marks. The spirit of Dunbar’s paintings fluctuates between improvised movement and controlled intention. Her work is included in many public and private collections.