Text: Evelyn Steinthaler, freelance journalist and author

Galerie Ariadne discovered painter Marion Avanzini in 2003, and her works immediately made an impression on visitors. Her work "S.H.E." in particular has been exhibited several times, always attracting attention. Now the gallery is dedicating a solo exhibition to Avanzini, presenting her latest large-format oil paintings. 
(Source: Der Standard newspaper, 25 February 2005)

Secret Exaltation
An exhibition of new works by Marion Avanzini, completed starting in November 2004, will open at Vienna's Galerie Ariadne on 15 February. In her pictures, the artist draws the viewer into liminal worlds that appear to be located deep inside. The fragments of text embedded between the thickly applied shades of red are often unreadable, and so can be understood as hidden messages. One gets the impression that Avanzini has encoded the text fragments when creating the works and wants to obscure their visibility. "It's quite possible for the text in a picture not to be noticed until years have gone by," says Avanzini. 

The words are left between the layers of colour and do not need to be read, but can speak for themselves: "...where I begin to end, where I cease to belong." (Ingeborg Bachmann). 

As much as the colour red clearly dominates her work, the exhibition shows that she frequently brings in other colours. "Since I began to focus on painting, for me red has been the most interesting colour. Up to now, in this respect nothing has changed," the artist explains. Just as Avanzini's preference for red is clear, her formal orientation is ambivalent. While viewing what one considers to be an abstract work by Avanzini, it quickly becomes clear that the artist is playing with the borders between figurative and abstract art. In turn, this links to the indefiniteness of the layers in her pictures. What is concealed? And what is open to view? Little is definite here. And nothing is simple.