For husband and wife Bob and Marjorie Moskowitz, painting has been a mainstay in their lives. Married for thirty-seven years, both artists have had successful art careers, and sharing their love of the craft has only deepened their bond as a couple. Each has a pride and admiration for the other’s work. “We feed off of each other’s ideas and observations, said Marjorie. “We are each other’s most important critics,” said Bob. “Margie is the one person I completely trust to talk with about my painting.” He went on to say that he loves Margie’s sense of color and design. “Her current work is born out of the tradition of landscape painting but with a background in abstraction. Her treatment of the subject is not typical because of her unique way of seeing.” Marjorie in turn said, “I respect Bob’s deep understanding of the figure to express his ideas about the human condition.”
Marjorie has been creating art as far back as she can remember. “In third grade I made a crayon drawing of a three story Mississippi riverboat filled with people. They were in turn of the century costumes. It was exhibited in a St. Louis Art Museum children’s show.” Although her parents encouraged her to obtain a business degree, creating art remained in the forefront of her mind. She eventually would go back to school to earn her B.F.A. and an M.F.A. in painting at Washington University in St. Louis…where she met Bob Moskowitz.
Like Marjorie, Bob has always loved to paint and decided to seriously pursue art in college. “I have early memories of my father drawing comic book pages and there were always art supplies available. I was the kid in class who could draw but I had other interests.” Bob decided he wanted to be an artist in his final year of college. He then enrolled in art school in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Bob’s exposure to art began in New York City and later in Philadelphia where he grew up.
The two met at Washington University in St. Louis at a meeting for new graduate students the day before classes started. “For two years our studios were adjacent to each other, and now we have been married for 37 years. Time flies when you collaborate,” said Marjorie.
The couple have been collaborating on paintings for the past three years while continuing to pursue their own individual work. They plan trips across the country, to research and accumulate images. One of their works entitled “Natural Gas” holds a two-fold meaning. Concerned about global warming and climate change during the drought, they decided to incorporate it into their art. They wanted to reference specific images to create a composition, so went on a drive towards Santa Paula from Ventura (on the126). “We needed cars and typical California road congestion along with specific traffic signs. (such as: ‘Natural Gas’…merging traffic and bicycle lane). We also needed cows because of their methane gas contribution to the atmosphere. The idea is for our paintings to reflect Americana, to be ironic, while funny and poignant,” said Marjorie.
The artist reception for the exhibition, Marjorie and Bob Moskowitz Collaborative Paintings “Free Or Best Offer” takes place on February 2, 2018 from 6–9pm at 643 Project Space, 643 Ventura Avenue, Ventura, California. The exhibition will remain on view through February 24th, 2018. See other images at: http://mbmosk.com Call for additional details or to see art by appointment 805–289–6273 or email [email protected] http://marjoriemoskowitz.com http://bobmoskowitz.com
Originally published at medium.com