“5 Artists From Artnet’s Gallery Network Pushing the Boundaries of Contemporary Figurative Painting This October.“ Artnet, October 27, 2023.
The Artnet Gallery Network hosts galleries worldwide and is constantly updated with new and intriguing art and artists that you can easily browse from your computer. From Venice to New York and beyond, the world’s leading art galleries are always just a few clicks away.
Here at the Artnet Gallery Network, we continually look for exciting new additions, which we highlight every month. Below, we’ve rounded up five artists who stood out from the crowd, all working in their own unique figurative style. CLICK TO READ THE ARTICLE
Badajoz, Joaquín. “Tania Marmolejo: A Latina Artist Auction Sensation.“ El País, September 13, 2023. English Edition.
A conversation with the Swedish-Dominican American artist about the immigrant experience, the challenges of being a female artist, and the dangers and rewards of performing exceptionally in a secondary market.
“Fulfilling,” she answers when asked to summarize the last 25 years of her life in one word. “Fulfilling,” she emphasizes, slightly narrowing her eyes as if reminiscing. “Because I’ve worked so hard, and my journey has been exciting, very fun, sometimes really hard. I’ve had heartbreak. I’ve had fun. I’ve had success. I’ve found myself at rock bottom and then gone up again,” she adds. “So, after those 25 years to be where I am now, exactly where I am now, I can look back and feel like I’ve achieved something I always wanted to do. I’ve done what I wanted. I’ve reached a place where I want to be. And right now, I’m there. I’m where I want to be, and it’s very fulfilling. CLICK TO READ THE ARTICLE
McCoole, Veena. “Tania Marmolejo’s Wide-Eyed Portraits Are Capturing Collectors Attention.” Artsy, May 31, 2023. United States.
The New York–based artist Tania Marmolejo has recently drummed up strong demand at global auctions, with sale prices often hammering for double or triple their estimates. Marmolejo is known for her contemplative large-scale portraits of women. She draws on her Dominican-Swedish-American heritage and previous experience in animation design to evoke complexity and enigma in her stylized, wide-eyed portraits that have enchanted private buyers.
In October 2022, her work I Always Come Back Here (2020) sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong for HK$693,000 (US$88,576) to a private buyer, a then-record price for the artist at auction. Less than six months later, that price has been beaten twice. Let the Hurricane In (2019) sold for HK$1.08 million (US$137,896)—more than seven times its low price estimate—at Poly Auctions later that month; and in March, Phillips New York also sold Dreams of Escape (2021) for US$88,900. CLICK TO READ THE ARTICLE
Silverman, Erica. “Favorite Finds at Felix Art Fair 2023.” Whitewall, February 17, 2023. United States.
Right next door, Nicodim, the gallery of New York, Los Angeles, and Bucharest displayed a sweeping, ethereal work by artist Tania Marmolejo titled DIVINA INMACULADA (2022) that begged our attention. The otherworldly creation of oil on linen focused on a flawless, vulnerable, yet powerful face, with wide, glistening eyes against a moody gray landscape. CLICK TO READ THE ARTICLE
Yuke, Wang. “Collective Voice In Arts.” China Daily, HK Edition, December 23, 2022. Hong Kong.
Without working in collective, female artists have seen flashing collective strokes to challenge stereotypes and inequality. Collaborative art across genres only amplifies the collective message to be heard. Wang Yuke reports from Hong Kong.
“Another prominent feature of some art at this sale is to present women staring directly at the viewer, like Tania Marmolejo or many West African artists, to force the viewer into a kind of acknowledgment or empathy,” explains Collins. Two Sides by Marmolejo, sold for HK$504,000 (US$64,770), commands a somewhat eerie but riveting pull-and-push effect, where two look-alike girls uniformly stare at the viewers, their oversized eyes inviting a direct soul dialogue with the audience without any reservation, ambiguity or meekness.” CLICK TO READ THE ARTICLE
Levy, Rom. “Artist Interview: Tania Marmolejo.” Street Art News, November 15, 2022. United States.
Tania Marmolejo Andersson is a Swedish-Dominican American artist born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Her work juxtaposes the intimate and personal with the monumental, creating large-scale paintings of ambiguous female facial expressions. She also explores issues of gender and identity as a Scandinavian-Caribbean female artist, using portraiture and physical expression to communicate emotions to the viewer, stimulating a striking empathetic response. READ INTERVIEW ONLINE
Popova, Ekaterina. “Big Feelings, The Female Gaze, and Using Your Voice Podcast With Tania Marmolejo.” Create! Magazine, June 20, 2022. United States.
Join host Ekaterina Popova and contemporary visual artist Tania Marmolejo in a motivating episode and get your passion back. Tania shares the “WHY” behind her striking paintings of the female gaze and talks about the challenges she has experienced on her journey. In addition, Tania shares the evolution of her art and how she got started creating characters, which eventually turned into the paintings she creates today. We talk about her international exhibitions and other exciting milestones. LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
Pricco, Evan. “North by Southwest: Tania Marmolejo Andersson’s Global Folk Art.” Juxtapoz, Summer 2022 Quarterly, June 2022. United States.
New York-based artist Tania Marmolejo, fashion illustrator, commercial artist, author, and painter, is a creative jack of all trades. Her Dominican and Scandinavian ancestry germinates a unique heritage that births a bold and arresting fine art style. On the eve of her solo show at GR Gallery in NYC, opening June 10, 2022, Juxtapoz sat down with Tania to discuss how such a lineage influences her work, how movement plays into the practice and some current artists on her radar. READ THE EDITION ONLINE HERE
Puig, Alicia. “Mirrored Feelings: Provoking Emotion & Curiosity in Paintings by Tania Marmolejo Andersson.” Create! Magazine Issue #27, November 2021. United States.
Enjoy in-depth discussions with Brock DeBoer, Cooper, Keight MacLean, Tania Marmolejo Andersson, and Timothy Gatenby, along with articles focused on the art world’s future and helpful career tips to achieve success.La obra de Tania Marmolejo es una invitación a entrar en el mundo de la artista como lo podemos hacer cuando leemos un libro de Franz Kafka.
Landry, Patrick. “Dualidad de la obra de Tania Marmolejo.” El Caribe, March 3, 2021. Santo Domingo, República Dominicana.
La obra de Tania Marmolejo es una invitación a entrar en el mundo de la artista como lo podemos hacer cuando leemos un libro de Franz Kafka. VIEW ARTICLE/GALLERY ONLINE
Translation (ENGLISH ) published in Repeating Islands (News and commentary on Caribbean culture, literature, and the arts), March 4, 2021.
López, Yaniris. “Santas y tígueras: la mirada femenina en la obra de Tania Marmolejo.” Listín Diario, February 26, 2020. Santo Domingo, República Dominicana.
Pinturas de la artista visual dominicana se exhiben hasta el 15 de abril en el museo Cándido Bidó, en la Plaza de la Cultura de Bonao. VIEW ARTICLE/GALLERY ONLINE
Gamal Michelen, Sugel. “Santas y tígueras”. Interview with Tania Marmolejo. Hervoice Magazine, Vol. 19, pgs. 66-69, February 17, 2020. Santo Domingo, República Dominicana.
Tania Marmolejo tells us about her formative experiences abroad, how they inspired her to explore her Latin identity, and what makes her unique. Her latest exhibition, “Santas y Tigueras,” comes from this exploration of his language and identity. VIEW DIGITAL REPLICAS ONLINE
Black Renaissance Noire Winter/Spring 2019 – Volume 19.1. Cover art by Tania Marmolejo.
Black Renaissance/Renaissance Noire publishes essays, poetry, fiction, photography, art, and reviews that address the full range of contemporary BLACK concerns. It invites BLACK genius to apply itself to the realities of the twenty-first century with uncompromised thought, generous and readable analysis, and commentary.
Edited by Quincy Troupe, Black Renaissance/Renaissance Noire is published by the Institute of African American Affairs at New York University. The journal has published some of the most important contemporary artists, writers, and scholars, namely: Ama Ata Aidoo, Amiri Baraka, Maryse Conde, Michael Dash, Edouard Glissant, Robin D.G. Kelley, Walter Mosley, Ishmael Reed, Coreen Simpson, Ntozake Shange, Hortense Spillers, Clyde Taylor, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, Michele Wallace, Derek Walcott, Chinua Achebe, Terrance Hayes, Paul Beatty, Jeffery Renard Allen, Deborah Willis, John Edgar Wideman, Chester Himes, John Williams, Emilio Cruz, Al Loving, Sapphire, and Shay Youngblood are just some of the writers, artists, and scholars, whose work has graced our pages. VIEW ARTICLE ONLINE
De Santis, Geraldine. “Dominicanas fuera de serie. 150 mujeres que transformaron la República Dominicana,” Santo Domingo, República Dominicana, December 2018
The book Dominicans in a league of their own (Dominicanas Fuera de Serie) presents the lives of extraordinary Dominicans who have actively participated in the construction of our nation through its 500 years of history in the format of children’s stories for readers +7 years. VIEW BOOK
“Med øye for kunst”, Harstad Tidende, Oct 8, 2018, Harstad, Norway
Lørdag åpnet svensk-dominikanske Tania Marmolejo sin utstilling i Galleri Nord-Norge til den 28. oktober. VIEW ARTICLE ONLINE
Paulsen, Ivan L. “For 25 år siden ville hun stille ut i Galleri Nord-Norge: Nå gjør hun det,” Harstad Tidende, Oct 4, 2018, Harstad, Norway
Tania Marmolejo tilbrakte et skoleår i harstadområdet som utvekslingsstudent. Lørdag stiller hun ut i sine malerier i Galleri Nord-Norge. VIEW ARTICLE ONLINE
Paz, Víctor. “Tania Marmolejo: ‘Mi inspiración son mis propias experiencias, recuerdos y sentimientos,” Santo Domingo Times, Edición 15 Aniversario, Sept., 2018, Santo Domingo, República Dominicana, págs. 218-221
La Tania de mirada penetrante creció entre la pasión del Caribe y la calma calculada de Escandinavia. Es una artista domínico-sueca que posee un dominio exquisito de la pintura en óleo. Sus influencias van desde el renacimiento y el barroco hasta las pinturas japoneas. VIEW ARTICLE ONLINE
Mercado. The Best of DR 2018. Los más influyentes de la ciudad de Santo Domingo y República Dominicana. Summer Issue. Año 25, Edición 392, Agosto 2018, pág. 34
Badajoz, Joaquin. “Retratos-paisajes de la ubicuidad,” La Vibra, El Diario Nueva York, May 17, 2018, New York, NY
Del otro lado del viaje JFK-Las Américas hay una media isla que tiene la belleza de un continente entero. Ese planeta en miniatura en medio del tórrido agosto anual caribeño, con sus aguaceros, verdes lavados, cielos huracanados y mares turquesa, es el hilo conector de la muestra “Here Versus There” de Tania Marmolejo Andersson, que se exhibe en la galería Lyle O. Reitzel de Manhattan. VIEW ARTICLE ONLINE DOWNLOAD ARTICLE
Confesor, Carmelsy. “Tania Marmolejo: un fantástico mundo femenino,” Oh! Magazine, En la Mira, Listín Diario, May 5, 2018, Dominican Republic
Sus ojos brillan, sonríen y hablan sin necesidad de gesticular absolutamente nada de su rostro y cuerpo. Ella transmite magia, talento y nos dejó flechados con su universo femenino. READ INTERVIEW
Hernandez, Jasmin. “In the Studio with Tania Marmolejo on the Lower East Side,” Gallery Gurls, Studio Visit, December 17, 2017, New York, NY
Dominican-Swedish artist, Tania Marmolejo, paints ethereal goddesses with large haunting eyes. Her women emit fire and ice vibes; paintings of gorgeous bronze-skinned women from the tropics hang next to blonde ice queens. I spent a warm Sunday afternoon in October in her Lower East Side studio, getting acquainted with her oil-on linen paintings and intricate ink drawings. CONTINUE READING
Simpson, Joe. “Curvaceous Cement,” Diary of a Tile Addict, May 3, 2017, London, UK
The latest additions to Aguayo Tiles’ Elevations collection are Dunes, Curves, Bloom, and Wave, the latter two created by renowned artist Tania Marmolejo. CONTINUE READING
Tifrere, Mashonda. “Visiting Tania Marmolejo in her Studio,” ArtLeadHER, Interview, November 8, 2016, New York, NY
Curator Mashonda Tifrere launched ArtLeadHER in March 2016 as a dynamic platform to celebrate and bring awareness to the women creating, curating, and thriving in the male-dominated art world.
ArtLeadHER provides marketing support, exhibition placement, social media exposure, artists’ residencies, and mentorship opportunities. By pairing new and underexposed female artists with their established contemporaries, artists can learn, collaborate, and grow in a community of like-minded women.
Mashonda works with several artists that produce a wide range of art that differs in scale, approach, and mediums. They include figurative, photography, abstract portraiture, sculpture, and street art. ArtLeadHER is ultimately a celebration of women, providing a platform for acknowledgment and appreciation. READ INTERVIEW
Badajoz, Joaquin. “El universo panóptico de Tania Marmolejo,” La Opinión, October 7, 2015, Los Angeles, CA
Marmolejo traza la ruta de un apasionante mapa pictórico en el que la mujer es arrastrada fuera de su zona de confort y obligada a desafiar el fuego del ojo público. VIEW ARTICLE
Badajoz, Joaquin. “El universo panóptico de Tania Marmolejo,” El Diario Nueva York, October 7, 2015, New York, NY
El gran formato acentúa el efecto de cautiverio, permitiendo que las expresiones muten según la perspectiva, en un simulado paralaje horizontal. Con este zoom in a una de sus marcas de estilo: ojos vivientes, expresivos, rasgos entre animé y realistas, Marmolejo reafirma por qué su obra se separa de la de Audrey Kawasaki, Mark Ryden o Tatiana Suárez —por citar tres narrativas afines—, ocupando una encrucijada propia con su reconocible lenguaje visual. VIEW ARTICLE ONLINE DOWNLOAD ARTICLE
De Tolentino, Marianne. “Tania Marmolejo piensa y pinta,” Periódico Hoy, Octubre 3, 2015, Dominican Republic
“La obra bien hecha surge airosa y potente, sencillísima y arropada de misterio”, decía el escritor Camilo José Cela. Esta observación cabría perfectamente para los grandes rostros de Tania Marmolejo, que ella puede no completar, proponiendo un “close-up” y dejando a nuestras miradas imaginar fuera del cuadro. VIEW ARTICLE
Lugo, Diana. “Tania Marmolejo: el Secreto de las miradas,” Estilos Magazine, September 12, 2015, Dominican Republic
Aunque no es común asociar el misterio de sus obras con el Caribe, la artista dominicana Tania Marmolejo sabe proyectar los colores fuertes y tropicales acompañados de los tonos fríos y hacerlo fascinante, pues al criarse entre dos países tan distintos como lo son República Dominicana y Suecia, siempre le han atraído los medios para presentar sus raíces en todo lo que hace. VIEW ARTICLE
Blush Magazine, Anniversary Edition. Fashion Faces from the Dominican Republic. September 2014. Pgs. 179-182. Interview
Tania Marmolejo es una artista plástica que ha cosechado numerosos éxitos a lo largo de su trayectoria, desde sus títulos de Bellas Artes recibidos en Kristiansand (Noruega), en la Escuela de Altos de Chavón y Parsons School of Design en Nueva York, hasta la exposiciones de sus obras a nivel internacional en ferias de arte como Pinta y Context Art Miami. VIEW ARTICLE
Hughes, Rebecca. “Tania Marmolejo: Artist, Designer and All Around Renaissance Woman,” Casa Life Magazine. Year 9, 2014, vol. 1. Pgs. 42-43. Cover and Interview
Born in Santo Domingo to a Swedish mother, Tania Marmolejo comes from an exotic mix of cultures. VIEW ARTICLE
Moore, Katrena. “You’re beautiful: Interview with talented painter Tania Marmolejo,” The Katswalk. September 1, 2014
The Katswalk is a style blog that features the chic and talented in independent high fashion, music, and film. The website is the love child of New York-based freelance fashion editor and writer Katrena Moore and her experience working with various musicians, artists, fashion houses, and magazines. Kat’s accessories edits and style blogs are displayed in top publications such as Harper’s Bazaar, W Magazine, Seventeen, and CosmoGirl Magazine. The Katswalk reader celebrates the underground. What’s new, as well as ‘unsigned finds,’ bringing originality back to entertainment. VIEW ARTICLE
Derringer, Jaime. “12 Favorite Tiles Designs from Coverings 2014,” Design Milk. May 7, 2014
An online magazine founded by artist design expert Jaime Derringer, dedicated to modern design, Design Milk offers what’s new in art, architecture, interior design, furniture and decor, fashion, and technology. Always fresh + never sour, Design Milk fills your thirsty cup to the brim with design finds from around the world. Drink up!
Design Milk has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Time Out New York, and The San Francisco Chronicle was one of the Google Reader Engineers’ Staff Picks and has been noted on Twitter’s “Who to Follow” list of influencers in Art and Design. It’s also been featured in books and is read by many entertainers, hundreds of retailers, magazine editors, and HGTV hosts and designers. Tweets from @designmilk have been featured in Dwell magazine and on HGTV.
Design Milk is a 2013 winner of the A’ Design Award. VIEW ARTICLE
Kaplan, Stephen. “Tania Marmolejo: A Chavón graduate who defines success,” Casa de Campo Living. February 2014
In the pantheon of Altos de Chavón graduates, few have forged careers as varied and exciting as Tania Marmolejo. Willowy, with chestnut-red-brown hair and a quick, wraparound smile that could disarm Iran, Tania studied illustration and fine arts at the Altos de Chavón School of Design in 1998. She earned her four-year university degree at Parsons The New School for Design, in New York, in 2000. She has always been passionately interested in every aspect of art — art for art’s sake, art for profit, and doodles for diversion. Making art is a source of satisfaction for her and has proved to be commercially viable, as well, in almost every combination and permutation. VIEW ARTICLE
Badajoz, Joaquin. “Las nuevas poéticas de Tania Marmolejo,” El Nuevo Herald. Artes y Letras (cover). August 24, 2013
Como recordaba Egon Schiele: “el arte no puede ser moderno, porque es primordialmente eterno”. Esa atemporalidad está también en la obra de Tania Marmolejo. A diferencia de Klimt (y cercano a una zona de su protegido Schiele, en especial sus autorretratos desnudos), la figura femenina en Marmolejo porta una narrativa autobiográfica, no muestra la seducción o el extrañamiento en el cuerpo del otro, sino que describe su propia ruta de la sensualidad, su caos, como un ojo de huracán reservado por el trompe l’oeil. En obras como The Caress (2013), ‘sentimos’ esa fronda mullida: su ilusión tridimensional. VIEW ARTICLE
Galán, Glenda. “El arte provocador de Tania Marmolejo, ” Dominicana en Miami. 2013
Cuando nos enteramos de que Tania había visitado la República Dominicana para presentar su trabajo, quisimos explorar un poco en su mundo, sus musas y la poesía que transmiten sus obras, a lo que ella amablemente accedió abriéndonos las puertas de su estudio. VIEW ARTICLE
Badajoz, Joaquin. “Beware of Strangers of the Persuasive Kind…”, Irreversible Magazine. August 2013
Tania Marmolejo’s work mixes those rare qualities of beauty and mystery, modernity and timelessness, and exceeds this vanguard breeze with a contemporary approach. Her vibrant palette of red, ocher, and gold has the sun’s warmth after a snowstorm, and the intensity of Egon Schiele passed through a filter of Manga. This is not a simple sum of influences but a new visual otherness. VIEW ARTICLE
MIAMI Magazine, Arts & Power Issue, Art Basel Edition. December 2012. Cover
Comic Timing. Episode 119: C2E2 and MoCCA. April 2011
Comic Timing is a podcast devoted to the average comic book fan, hosted by Ian Levenstein. Marmolejo was interviewed about her participation at MoCCA Arts Fest, an annual comics festival in New York City hosted by the Society of Illustrators. FULL AUDIO PODCAST PLAY EDITED VERSION
Aguirregomezcorta, Gonzalo: “Tres artista, tres maneras de ilustrar independientes. Tania Marmolejo: el arte de “doodlear” de una dominicana residente en Nueva York,” elmundo.es. (MoCCA festival) 2011
Tania Marmolejo fue uno de los escasos exponentes hispanos que mostraron sus trabajos en MoCCA. Esta dominicana afincada en Nueva York ha conseguido que el ‘doodling’ se convierta en arte. Quién no ha garabateado una hoja mientras mantiene una conversación telefónica o piensa en otra cosa. Precisamente ése es el concepto ‘doodle’, dibujos realizados mientras la mente está ocupada en otros menesteres. Tania le da una vuelta de turca, “la naturaleza del ‘doodle’ es ser secundaria en la ejecución, nunca en el resultado”. VIEW ARTICLE
Selected Mentions
- 2016 Jasmin Hernandez in conversation with ArtFile Magazine’s A.M. DeBrincat. ArtFile magazine, December 2016. New York
- 2014 Hernan Bas y el síndrome de Dorian Gray. Joaquin Badajoz. Arte y Literatura. El Nuevo Herald, Miami, November 1, 2014