Marliese Scheller

How should we define art and its aesthetic value?

Art is pluralistic by nature and aesthetics is the “science” of beauty that provides a framework for evaluating the beauty and value in a piece.

At the heart of every work of art is a style and technique that is distinct to each artist. The work is an expression of the artist’s mind, and hence an original work through which ideas and emotions are conveyed using different mediums, materials, lines, shadow and light, and colors to engage and inspire viewers, encouraging them to become active participants.

I hope I have sparked your curiosity so that you will want to discover more for yourself.

Oil Painting

(1952-2014)

What makes my oil paintings stand out?

In addition to the subject and composition, color theory is central. Using the knowledge of color that I acquired during my training, I have sought to achieve harmony and render luminosity. This infuses my work with a soft light that radiates through it.

I prepared the gesso background and applied colors with a knife, adhering to the traditional method.

In my compositions, I see man as an extension of nature filled with lyricism and poetry. To convey this concept, I expressed emotion through color, facial expressions, and gestures, and the interaction among the subjects.


(click on thumbnails below to enlarge)

Danse avec le soleil, 76 cm x 114 cm, 1996 Contrastes, 42 cm x 53 cm, 1995 Tibétain, 73 cm x 92 cm, 1995 Le philosophe, 65 cm x 80 cm, 1994 Un coin de paradis, 40 cm x 60 cm, 2014 Couple à la fleur, 64 cm x 82 cm, 1956

Black and White Period

(1988-1995)

My ink drawings, known as my “Black and White” period, achieve an aesthetic close to graphic art in that the modeling is kept to a minimum as in woodcuts, creating relief with strong, balanced contrasts with black being the ink and white the paper reserve.

Both construct space and suggest volume. When compared to graphic art, this medium gave me the artistic freedom to produce larger, more intricate pieces with finer, more precise lines and greater detail in which I also perceive color.


(click on thumbnails below to enlarge)

Le baigneur, 43 cm x 60 cm, 1988 Les tournesols, 50 cm x 70 cm, 1988 Sans-titre, 56 cm x 77 cm, 1994 Le silence, 60 cm x 95 cm, 1988 L'attente, 50 cm x 70 cm, 1988 Paysage des bois, 92 cm x 100 cm, 1988

Small-scale Painting

(1967-1992)

My small-scale painting sets, which I refer to as miniatures, were inspired by the illuminated manuscripts from the Middle Ages. I feel these manuscripts render every expression with great sobriety, revealing the spirit of Gothic cathedrals and the achievements of that period.

I worked with paper, parchment, and vellum, applying gouache in layers to achieve the desired colors.

Each set tells a story and forms a thematically cohesive collection, displayed across the entire folio. I chose themes that are secular and non-secular. Secular works depict idyllic rural scenes and seasonal leisure activities and explore the monthly labors of the agricultural year. The only non-secular set is Cycle de la création which was inspired by Genesis.


(click on thumbnails below to enlarge)

Les quatre saisons - L'automne, 24 cm x 26 cm, 1981 Les quatre saisons - L'hiver, 24 cm x 26 cm, 1981 Le cycle de la créations - Au commencement, 20 cm x 20 cm, 1985 Le cycle de la créations - Création de la terre, 24 cm x 31 cm, 1985 Signes du Zodiaque ou les douze mois - Septembre, 22 cm x 26 cm, 1967 Signes du Zodiaque ou les douze mois - Octobre, 22 cm x 26 cm, 1967

Tapestry

(1956-1977)

Each of my tapestries is a one-of-a-kind piece, woven once on a horizontal loom from my full-size, numbered and painted cartons with wool and silk purchased at Aubusson. Over the years, twenty-seven tapestries were woven at Zouk Mikael (Lebanon). They epitomize an incredible journey that started in 1957. In addition to contributing to the revitalization of the region’s arts and crafts, I felt it was important to restore the weavers’ rightful status and I acknowledged their contributions to the workshop’s success.

Among some of the innovation and originality is La corbeille de fleurs, a piece entirely woven in silk (both warp and thread) and four monochrome tapestries which to my knowledge stand out from some of the works by my contemporaries. In this journey, I could also count on the encouragement of Picart Le Doux.


(click on thumbnails below to enlarge)

Femme à l'oiseau, 133 cm x 149 cm, 1965 L'étang, 117 cm x 154 cm, 1965 Le paon, 138 cm x 145 cm, 1967 L'oiseau bleu, 137 cm x 178 cm, 1965 La corbeille de fleurs, 90 cm x 160 cm, 1965 Mille-Fleurs, 117 cm x 154 cm, 1966 L'arbre, 90 cm x 160 cm, 1960 Le printemps, 137 cm x 178 cm, 1971 L'oiseau, 133 cm x 149 cm, 1971 Voyage, 125 cm x 250 cm, 1965 L'oiseleur - Carton de tapisserie numéroté (détail), 117 cm x 154 cm, 1970

Achievements

Solo Exhibitions

1966
Tapestries, Hotel Phoenicia, Beyrouth, Liban

1961
Tapestries, UNESCO, Beyrouth, Liban

1956
Painting, drawing, woodcut prints, Centre d’études supérieures, Beyrouth, Liban

 

Group Exhibitions

2026
Art Shopping Salon April 10-11, Carrousel du Louvre, Paris, France: ink drawing
28th Art International Zurich 2026, May 8-10, Switzerland: small-scale painting of the set Les quatre saisons

2024
Art San Diego, Art Fair, California, USA

2023
Digitally represented by Agora Gallery, New York, USA

2022 (June 3rd - June 24th)
Summer Solstice : Ink Drawings, Agora Gallery, New York, USA

2021 (May 4th - May 25th)
Introspection Outside the Picture : Ink Drawings, Agora Gallery, New York, USA

2019 (August 24th - September 24th)
A Splendid Summer Show Case : Oil Paintings and Ink Drawings, Agora Gallery New York, USA

2018 (July 7th - July 27th)
The Figure and Unknown Places : Oil Paintings, Agora Gallery, New York, USA

2000 (January 22nd - February 7th
Miniatures by Marliese Scheller: small-scale paintings on parchment, Stewart Hall Gallery, Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada (duo exhibition with Frédéric Back)

1990 (December)
Le Décor de la table: tapestries, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

1989 (September 2nd - September 27th
Visual Metaphors: oil paintings, Ariel Gallery, Soho, New York, USA

1989 (September)
Small-scale paintings, Toronto Metro Convention and Del Bello Gallery, Toronto, Canada

1968
L’oiseau bleu, tapestry, Gallery Franck-Nell, Montreal, Canada

1965-1967
Tapestries, Evreux, Douvres-la-Délivrande and Bordeaux (France), exhibitions curated by Le Hallier

1952 (January)
Painting, The Saarland Museum, Allemagne

1950
Published three woodcuts in Blühende Gärten, West Ost Verlag, Saarland

1949 (April 29th - May 8th)
Drawings, paintings and woodcuts, Centre des arts décoratifs du Louvre, Paris, France

 

Works in Public Places

1965
Voyage, tapestry, commissioned for Beirut’s International Airport VIP lounge

1948
Frescoes in the choir transept at St. Ursula, Scheidt, Saareland

 

Publications

June 2026
Published ink drawing in Spotlight Magazine

March 2026
Published in ArtStar Digital Magazine

June 2025
Published in Masterful Minds #8

July 2024
Published ink drawing in Masterful Minds #2

December 2022
December 2022: Artistic Excellence Award by Circle Foundation for the Arts for artwork displaying originality, uniqueness and outstanding aesthetics in all visual art categories for publication in Circle Quarterly Art Review, Winter 2022 issue.

September 2022
Published in Spotlight

May 2022
Published in Spotlight

March-July 2022
Published in Contemporary Art Curator

February-March 2022
Published in Art IDEAL

November-Décember 2021
Published in Spotlight

July-August 2021
Published in Spotlight

March-April 2021
Published in Spotlight

Décember 2020
Published in Art IDEAL