Meme Marey (b. 1962) gained a BA 1st Class (Hons) Painting, Fine Art from Gloucestershire College of Art and Design in 1985. She then studied for an MA Painting, Fine Art at the Royal College of Art, London, graduating in 1988. With a long and successful career in the Arts, Meme has more recently started using the female form as a key underlying theme in her practise.
My paintings have an immediacy and intimacy to them which is intuitive and spontaneous.
They use line and colour with freedom in expression without restraint, allowing the paintings to evolve through construction in a way that separates the thought process from the application, therefore allowing each piece to evolve without a preplanned outcome or destination.
These recent female forms have largely taken a reclining pose. By taking this position the figure is open to interpretation. Differing aspects of vulnerability, seductiveness, fragility and solitude all spring to mind and yet at the same time there is a sense of intimate ease.
The different possible narratives within these paintings is hugely important in my work, and allows for interpretation from the viewer.
Some of my paintings go through enormous changes. This can be seen in the buildup of the surface which is integral to each piece and part of the journey they take. By working in a series, I move from painting to painting allowing them to ‘talk’ to each other, creating a conversation that broadens and deepens as they head toward resolution
Meme works from her studio in Somerset. In 2018 she was Artist in Residence in Hannacc, Spain, where she produced over 100 paintings of her female forms. Since 2015, she has exhibited her work in shows in Basel, Barcelona and London.
