Katia Margolis · Wind from the Sea

Following her recent exhibition The Colour of Time, Katia Margolis now reveals her next major cycle of work on paper, Wind from the Sea. This enchanting series of etchings, depicting muse-like figures in townscapes and seascapes, is once again a celebration of Margolis’s immersion in the distinctive palette of Venice: attenuated blues, gentle russets and pinks, translucent greens and blues.

The traditional etching technique is of considerable interest, involving cardboard and paper etching plates that are incised and then texturally embellished with layers of crushed and moulded paper, before being rolled through the cast-iron press. The plates themselves are on display along with the etchings and are works of art in themselves. The effects Margolis achieves in the process are startlingly different. Some plates are the genesis of gleaming, translucent marine scenes. Others have a beguiling lapidary quality that recalls ancient classical frescoes.

The exhibition also features a collection of delicate garments, scarves and shawls in hand-painted silk, featuring both figurative and semi-abstract designs celebrating the landscape and iconography of Venice.

Wind from the sea, caressing one’s hair, garments and words. Bringing hope and memories. Wind from the sea that hugs and uplifts you. That sings and whispers.

This cycle of work celebrates two decades of me living in Venice and of Venice living in me. In body and soul — they are the same, just as the visible is indivisible from the invisible.

This city opposes any idea of duality. It is designed to make two one. It simultaneously reflects, and causes reflection. One is perennially shaped by it, becoming ever more a part of the city’s fabric. And that very city fabric — with its inner beauty, its proportions, its labyrinth of calles, its light, texture and colour — is equally becoming an inner part of oneself.

This is my reason for having chosen a combination of printmaking and painting techniques for this cycle of work. The formative imprint and the freedom of colour. Colour of water and sky, colour one wears not only externally but also within.

Clothes as body, lines as itineraries, folds and twists of destiny, textures and echoes of time are part of this inner experience . Wounds and wonders. Sometimes indiscernible. This is why bandages and textiles are omnipresent in my work. As well as imprinted texture.