“Lynne Marsh…conjures unsettled spaces, micro-worlds on the cusp of transition. In all instances, they are triggered by public architecture. Here, the body and building brush against one another, and the encounter is both strange and familiar, uncomfortable and exhilarating, and filled with tension and fascination.”
Shannon Anderson
Architecture – its patterns, structures and textures – is a re-occurring motif in Lynne Marsh’s moving image work. Marsh incorporates performance and installation into her practice and is drawn to the mechanics that create an experience; the choreography of support, “the theatre behind the theatre”.
An evangelical church housed in an art-deco cinema, a dancehall, an abandoned pleasure park, a television studio, a traffic control tower, the Olympic stadium in Berlin, Opera North in Leeds, the Berliner Philharmoniker Digital Concert Hall – Lynne Marsh has mapped out a terrain of enquiry and exploration. Linking them is her interest in how people work together, the specific skills and intense focus required to bring a project to fruition, ‘the fragility of the live event’ as Marsh describes it. This is particularly noticeable in works such as Tragedy, and The Philharmonie Project in which all her focus is not on the live event itself, but on the work behind the event. What unfolds is a drama; the language, actions, terminology and gestures that people use while performing their designated tasks, has a peculiar tension and theatricality. In Anna and the Tower, a newly trained air traffic controller declaims air-to-ground commands like lines learnt for a play, and in Camera Opera, filmed in a tv news studio, the newsreader remains silent and still, while the cameras perform as if enacting choreographed dance moves. Lynne Marsh’s acclaimed work Stadium, filmed in the Berlin Oympiad, a hybrid of its troubled past and modernised present, conveys the resonance of controlling, ominous state power while ultimately suggesting a resistance.
Lynne Marsh’s work has been exhibited in solo exhibitions internationally at ICA, London; Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin; Steve Turner Contemporary, Los Angeles; the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal; Danielle Arnaud contemporary art, London; PROGRAM, Berlin and in group exhibitions and screenings at Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels, Kunstverein Wolfsburg, Germany, the 10th International Istanbul Biennial,Toronto International Film Festival, Centro Cultural Montehermoso, Spain, Manif d’art 5, Quebec City, Oakville Galleries, Canada, 53 Art Museum, China and The National Gallery of Canada.
Lynne Marsh’s work is held in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada; Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queens University; and Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec.
Lynne lived and worked in London 2001 – 2016. She is currently living and working in Los Angeles.
1969 Born in Vancouver, CA
1998 MFA, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK
1992 BFA, Concordia University, Montreal, CA
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2021
Who Raised It Up So Many Times?, curated by Kimberli Mayer, UCR ARTS, Riverside, US
2018
Taking Positions, Tintype, London
2017
Lynne Marsh, 12 x 12, The IBB Video Space at the Berlinsche Galerie, Musuem of Modern Art, Berlin
Taking Positions (web commission), Remai Modern, Saskatoon, Canada
Lynne Marsh’s film Anna and the Tower was screened at the Babylon Cinema, Berlin 9 Sept as part of Good to Talk – 46 hours in conversation, to inaugurate the work’s release in Videoart at Midnight Editions
2015
Lynne Marsh, fig-2, curated by Fatoş Üstek, Institute of Contemporary Art, London, UK
2014
Anna and the Tower, Scrap Metal, Toronto International Film Festival, Toronto, CA
2013
Plänterwald, Or Gallery, Vancouver, CA
2012
Upturned Starry Sky, Contact Gallery, Toronto, CA
2011
The Philharmonie Project (Nielsen: Symphony No. 5), PROGRAM, Berlin, DE
Stage Backstage, Donald Browne Gallery, Montreal, CA
2009
Ballroom, Screening Gallery, Philadelphia, US
Camera and Calisthenics, Danielle Arnaud contemporary art, London, UK
2008
Lynne Marsh, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Montreal, CA
Lynne Marsh, Musée régional de Rimouski, Rimouski, CA
Stadium, Steve Turner Contemporary, Los Angeles, US
2007
Stadium-first cut, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, DE
Ballroom, Video Pool, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, CA
2006
Volcano, Platform, London, UK
2005
Lynne Marsh: Crater, curated by Martha Langford, Cinémathèque québécoise, Montreal, CA
2002
Screeners, Prema Arts Centre, Gloucestershire, UK
2000
Venus…I see blue, Oboro, Montreal, CA
1998
New Digital Work, Video Wall Commission, Levi Strauss -The Flagship Store, London, UK
Venus…I see blue, 291 Gallery, London, UK
Selected Group Exhibitions
2020
Next Year’s Country, curated by Sandra Fraser, Remai Modern, Saskatoon, CA
2016
Essex Road III, Tintype, London, UK
Luminocity, Kamloops Art Gallery, Kamloops, CA
2015
How Far is Here, curated by Charlotte Lalou Rousseau, MAGO, Eidsvoll, NO
Second Hand Emotion, curated by Carson Chan, Aurora Public Art Event, Dallas, US
2014
L’avenir (looking forward), La Biennale de Montréal, curated by Gregory Burke and Peggy Gale, Montreal, CA
Ecotopia, curated by Amanda Cachia, Kenderdine Art Gallery, Saskatchewan, CA
Sounds -Bilder Hören, Geräusche Sehen, Kunsthalle Memmingen, Memmingen, DE
2013
Ecotopia, curated by Amanda Cachia, Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, CA
Ecotopia, curated by Amanda Cachia, Nickle Galleries, Calgary, CA
2012
Builders: Canadian Biennial 2012, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, CA
Ecotopia, curated by Amanda Cachia, Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener, CA,
2011
8+8 Contemporary International Video Art, curated by Gordon Laurin, 53 Art Museum, Guangzhou, CN
Hyperspaces, curated by Shannon Anderson, Oakville Galleries, CA
The Quebec Triennial 2011. The Work Ahead of Us, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Montreal, CA
Metrospecitve 1.0, Program, Berlin, DE
2010
Catastrophe? Quelle Catastrophe! Manif d’art 5, curated by Sylvie Fortin, Quebec City, CA
2009
There is No Audience, curated by Adnan Yildiz, Montehermoso Cultural Centre, Vitoria-Gasteiz, ES
2008
The Quebec Triennial 2008. Nothing is Lost, Nothing is Created, Everything is Transformed, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Montreal, CA
2007
Nightcomers, curated by Övul Durmusoglu, Marcus Graf, Borga Kantürk, Pelin Uran, Adnan Yıldız,
10th Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, TR
Reality Crossings, curated by Christoph Tanert, 2.fotofestival Mannheim-Ludwigshafen-Heidelberg, DE
Classe de Danse, curated by Alessio Fransoni and Ilari Valbonesi, Zentrum für Kulturproduction, Bern, CH
2006
Disorient, Globe Gallery, Newcastle, UK
Next Level, Kunstverein Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg, DE
2005
London Movies, curated by Edgar Schmitz, Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels, BE
Disorient, Hit Gallery, Bratislava, SK
Video Unplugged, curated by Paco Barragán, Galleri S.E, Bergen, NO
2004
Hulagirl, Waygood Gallery, Newcastle, UK
The Sneeze 80×80, curated by Peter Lloyd Lewis and Natasha Makowski, Gazon Rouge, Athens, GR
Transmogrifications, Danielle Arnaud contemporary art, London, UK
2003
Family Business, curated by Danielle Arnaud and Matthew Poole, PM Gallery, London, UK
Taking Speed, 1 000 000mph Gallery, London, UK
Exhumed, curated by Danielle Arnaud, Jordan Kaplan and Philip Norman, The Museum of Garden History, London,UK
2001
landescape, Mercer Union Gallery, Toronto, CA
2000
Sodium Blindness, curated by Sarah Conway and Lisa Le Feuvre, APT Gallery, London, UK
Problems of Everyday Life, curated by David Mabb, Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool, UK
1998
Close Encounters, The Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, CA
Selected Screenings / Festivals
2017
Experiments in Cinema International Film Festival, Albuquerque, US
2016
Tragedy, Howard Assembly Room Opera North, Leeds, UK
Videoart at Midnight, Kino Babylon Mitte, Berlin, DE
2013
Unibrow: Art House Film Series, The Screening Room Cinema, Kingston, CA
2011
European Media Art Festival, Osnabrueck, DE
Les Rencontres Internationales, Centre Pompidou, Paris, FR, Auditorium of the Ministerio de Cultura, Madrid, ES and Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, DE
2010
Live Weekend 1, curated by Artprojx, Institute of Contemporary Art Theatre, London, UK
2009
Staged Events, curated by Artprojx, The Prince Charles Cinema, London, UK
2007
Ballroom Blitz, curated by Elisabetta Fabrizi, BFI Southbank Cinema, London, UK
Supernature, curated by Susanne Jaschko, Urban Screens Manchester 07, Manchester, UK
Mind Hacking, curated by Theresa Frölich and Antonia Lotz, Kunstakademie Münster, Germany, DE
Fair Play 07 Film & Video Award, Kino Babylon Mitte, Berlin, DE
2003
Festival International Cinema Nouvelle Generation, curated by Laurence Le Petit, Lyon, France, FR
New Territories International Festival of Live Art, The Arches Theatre, Glasgow, UK
Grants / Awards / Residencies
Essex Road III Commission, London, UK, 2016
Neue Berliner Räume Commission, Berlin, DE, 2015
Opera North Projects Co-Production, Leeds, UK, 2015
Toronto International Film Festival and Goethe Insitute Commission, CA 2014
Artist-in-Residence at The Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queens University, Kingston, CA, 2013
Canada Council for the Arts, CA, 2011 | 2008 | 2005 | 2000 | 1993
Conseil des arts et des lettres du Quebec, CA, 2010 | 2009 | 2004 | 1999 | 1996 | 1994
The Bambi Foundation, DE, 2010
Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities Research Award UH, UK, 2012 | 2008 | 2005
Künstlerhaus Bethanien, International Studio Program, Berlin, DE, 2006
Arts Council England, UK, 2006 | 2003
Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK, 2004
The Banff Centre for the Arts, Artist Residency, Banff, CA, 2003 | 1996
SAGAMIE, Artist Residency, Alma, CA, 2003
PRIM Centre d’arts médiatiques, Research and Development Grant, Montreal, CA, 2001
la fondation Daniel Langlois, Project Grant, CA, 2001
SAW Video, Production Grant, Ottawa, CA, 1997
Public Collections
Remai Modern, Saskatoon, CA
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, CA
The Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queens University, Kingston, CA
Musée National des beaux-arts du Québec, Quebec City, CA
Bibliothèque Nationale du Québec, Quebec City, CA
Selected Catalogues / Gallery Publications
Burke, Gregory, et al. L’avenir (looking forward). Montreal: Montreal Biennale, 2014
Cachia, Amanda, Ernest Callanbach and Anthony Vidler. Ecotopia. Kitchener: Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery and Southern Alberta Art Gallery, 2013
Shaughnessy, Jonathan, et al. Builders: Canadian Biennial 2012. Ottawa: National Gallery of CA, 2012
Heather, Rosemary. Extra Visible Dimension: Lynne Marsh’s The Philharmonie Project (Nielsen: Symphony No. 5). Berlin: PROGRAM, 2012
Rubenstien, Bonnie, ed. “Lynne Marsh. Upturned Starry Sky.” Public: CONTACT Photography Festival 2012. Toronto: CONTACT Photography Festival, 2012
Anderson, Shannon. Hyper Spaces, José Manuel Ballester, An Te Liu, Lynne Marsh. Oakville: Oakvile Galleries, 2012
Fraser, Marie, et al. The 2011 Quebec Triennial: The Work Ahead of Us. Montreal: Musée d’art contemporain de Montreal, 2011
Yildiz, Adnan, ed. There is No Audience!. Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain: Montehermoso Cultural Centre, 2009
Landry, Pierre, Josée Bélisle, Paulette Gagnon and Mark Lanctôt. The Quebec Triennial 2008: Nothing is Lost, Nothing is Created, Everything is Transformed. Montreal: Musée d’art contemporain de Montreal, 2008
Johnstone, Lesley and Bernard Lamarche. Lynne Marsh. Montreal: Musée d’art contemporain de Montreal and Musée régional de Rimouski, 2008
Ayvaz, Ilkay Baliç, ed. Not Only Possible, But Also Necessary: Optimism in the Age of Global War 10th International Istanbul Biennial. Istanbul: Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts and Yabi Kredi, 2007
Becker, Kathrin. “Critical Tourism. On Lynne Marsh’s Video Installation Stadium -First Cut.” BE-Magazine, no. 1, Berlin, 2007
Guillemet, Colin, Matthew Poole, and Doriane Laithier. “Lynne Marsh nominated by PoCA.” Pilot:3. London: Pilot, 2007
Hoffman, Justin. Next Level, Die Lust am spiel in der Netzwerkgesellschaft. Wolfsburg: Kunstverein, Wolfsburg, 2007
Mays, Mariianne. “The Mesmerist; Lynne Marsh, Ballroom.” Poolside / nano_mega. Winnipeg: Video Pool, 2007
Kollectiv, Pil and Galia Kollectiv. Lynne Marsh: Volcano. London: Platform, 2006
Lawson, Shelia, ed. Platform 1998-2006. London: Platform, 2006
Langford, Martha, et al. “Lynne Marsh: Crater.” Image & imagination. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2005
Cheddie, Janice. “Cartographies of the Feminine.” Hulagirl: Lynne Marsh & Miranda Whall. Newcastle: Waygood Gallery, 2004
Kaplan, Jordan, ed. Exhumed, 2003 Museum of Garden History. London: Parabola, 2003
Demkiw, Janis. Landscape. Toronto: Mercer Union Gallery, 2001
Blouin, Danielle. “Une fonction documentaire.” Un livre délinquant: les livres d’artistes comme expériences limite. Saint-Laurent: Fides, 2001
Selected Articles / Reviews
Galton, Bridget. “Essex Road III curator ‘Essex Road is an endless pot of inspiration’”. Islington Gazette (online), London, Dec. 16, 2016
Steer, Emily. “Essex Road III”. Elephant (online), London, Dec. 2016
“Tintpye Gallery Presents: Essex Road III Short Film Screenings!. Widewalls (online). London, Dec. 2016
Westall, Mark. “Essex Road III”. FAD (online). London, Dec. 8, 2016
“Eight commissioned films screening in Tintype’s window”. Artdaily (online), London, Dec. 9, 2016
Røed, Kjetil. “Ettertenksomme dialoger” Aftenposten, Oslo, July 4, 2015
Whyte, Murray. “Past futures made present at TIFF’s Future Projections program.” The Star, Toronto, Sept. 09, 2014
Laurence, Robin. “Lynne Marsh’s Plänterwald is a poetic meditation on a broken-down Berlin amusement park.” The Georgia Straight, Sept. 17, 2013
Griffin, Kevin. “Planterwald: a modern ruin in progress in Berlin”. Vancouver Sun, Sept. 20, 2013
Larios, Pablo. “Lynne Marsh, Program.” frieze d/e, Issue 4, Spring, 2012
Whyte, Murray. “Oakville Gallery’s Hyper Spaces.” Toronto Star, Jan. 4, 2012.
Kirkland, Bruce. “TIFF 2014: Our preview of the festival’s must-sees”. Toronto Sun Online, Toronto, Aug. 29, 2014
Campeau, Sylvain. “Lynne Marsh, Stage Backstage.” Ciel Variable, Spring, 2012.
Marie-Ève Charron. “Caméras hors scène.” Le Devoir, Montreal, Oct. 22, 2011
Todd, Jeremy. “What Are We Now? On Stadium and Vox Pop.” BlackFlash, vol. 27.1, Fall 2009
Jagr, David. “Lynne Marsh, Musée d’art contemporain de Montreal.” Canadian Art, Vol. 26 no. 2, summer 2009
Campbell, James D. “Lynne Marsh.” Border Crossings, no. 109, 2009
Redfern, Christine. “Where de we fit in? Canadian artist Lynne Marsh’s installations at the MAC question the individual’s position within mass society.” The Montreal Gazette, Jan. 2, 2009
Dewolfe, Stacy. “Surrounding herself.” Montreal Mirror, Jan. 29, 2009.
Kilston, Lyra. “Lynne Marsh at Musee d’Art Contemporain (Montreal).” Modern Painters, Nov. 2008.
Hochereau, Alain. “Espaces réinventés.” Voir Montreal, Nov. 6, 2008.
Yates, Carolyn. “The Art of Landscaping.” The McGill Tribune, Montreal, Nov. 18, 2008
Cloutier, Mario. “Le corps architecte au Musée d’art contemporain.” La Presse, Montreal, Nov. 7, 2008
Samson, Véronique. “Coversation avec l’espace, Le Musée d’art contemporain de Montreal accueille Lynne Marsh et ses installations vidéographiques.” Le Délit, Montreal, Nov. 11, 2008
Charron, Marie-Éve. “Une sale de danse, un stade, un studio de television et vous.” Le Devior, Montreal, Nov. 22, 2008
Mavrikakis, Nicolas. “Portrait de l’artiste en Magicien.” Voir Montreal, Nov. 27, 2008
Fadden, Robyn. “Found in space.” Hour, Montreal, Dec. 4, 2008
Frank, Peter. “Falling Together.” LA Weekly, Apr. 9, 2008
Haroun, Thierry. “Tour du Quebec : de l’art en péninsule.” Le Devoir, Montreal, May 10, 2008
Vallée, Marie Diane. “Manège Urbain est de retour.” Le Rimouskois, Rimouski, June 3, 2008
Tanert, Christoph. “Reality Crossings.” European Photography, no. 82, winter 2008
Abramson, Stacey. “Lynne Marsh’s Ballroom.” C Magazine, no. 95, Fall 2007
Hauffen, Michael. “Next Level, Die Lust am Spiel in der Netzwerkgesellschaft”
Kunstforum International, Bd. 184, Mar./Apr. 2007
Lamarche, Bernard. “Image et imagination: Mois de la photo à Montreal” Parachute, no. 121, Jan./Mar. 2006
Sloan, Johanne. “Landscape Immersions: Lynne Marsh’s Performative Spaces.” Art Papers, Vol. 30, no. 2, Mar./Apr, 2006
Vanmeenen, Karen. “A Hunger for Images.” Afterimage, Vol. 33, no. 4, Jan./Feb. 2006
Lamarche, Bernard. “La gravité déjouée.” Le Devoir, Montreal, Sept. 23, 2005
Sumpter, Helen. “Taking Speed.” Time Out London, Oct. 22-29, 2003
“Lynne Marsh — Intergalactic super-heroine.” Gloucestershire Arts, Apr. 2002
Couëlle, Jennifer. “Venus en quête de sens.” La Presse, Montreal, Jan. 16, 2000
Dagenais, Francine. “Lynne Marsh.” Parachute, n° 99, July/Aug./Sept. 2000
Lamarche, Bernard. “Superhéroïne en boîte.” Le Devoir, Montreal, Feb. 5, 2000
Lehmann, Henry. “The body shows up in various guises: anatomy is destiny in gallery shows by women.” The Montreal Gazette, Jan. 29, 2000
Mavrikakis, Nicolas. “Arrêt sur image.” Voir Montreal, Jan. 13-19, 2000
Skidmore. “Lynne Marsh Raising Brows.” Hour, Montreal, Mar. 2-8, 2000
