Bio I was born and raised mostly in California but have lived all over the country. I received a painting degree from Michigan State University. After college, I worked for Graphicstudio in Tampa, Florida and produced relief sculptures for Richard Anuskiewicz and Robert Stackhouse. In Virginia, I took classes with Carlton Newton, William Bennett, and was one of three founding member of the artists cooperative, Bozart. I started a family in 2000 and my professional life went dormant. In 2014, after a move to Minnesota I restarted my art career. I currently reside in Rochester. My work and inspiration are primarily drawn from the environment anomy relationship with it.
Statement Community is everywhere; where we choose to live, who we choose to be with, and how we define ourselves. It can represent a small group of a few or an entire nation. Community can give us a sense of safety and belonging, support us and help us through difficult times, it can also influence us, whether we want it to or not, in negative and destructive ways. This body of work explores the relationships that are chosen, even the ones that are peripheral but affect us nonetheless. The home is a universal symbol of community. I have manipulated the houses to reflect my relationships within my community. The larger houses protecting the smaller ones, storms of wire trying to get inside the houses unsuccessfully, grief causing a house to kneel, joy in hugging a smaller house tight are all reflections of my experiences. Clay allows for textures and degrees of individuality and expression of physical characteristics, the metal legs balance the houses and allow them movement toward or away from the group. I like the disparity between the two mediums, fragile and breakable, unyielding but capable of decay and change. The textures and colors are organic and extracted from nature; the underlying community that we are all a part of.
Contact mbmagyar@gmail.com on Instagram @marybethmagyar 859.940.2834
