A Fine Art Collection Profile >
Stephanie Marzella is a professional landscape painter. Inspired by the tonalist movement of the late 19th century, her scenes, she says, “express my emotional response to
nature’s mystery and her constant transitions, evoking a mood and atmosphere that often awaken emotions in the viewer.”
Today Marzella resides on Johns Island, southwest of Charleston, where she paints the flat, luminous Lowcountry all around her. She is proud that “Charleston is home to a thriving arts community and has become a lively destination for buying art, especially from several excellent galleries in the French Quarter.” (Among them is Reinert Fine Art, which represents Marzella.)
Much as she loves South Carolina, Marzella is not originally from there. She was born and raised near Cleveland and became interested in art during junior high school. While earning her B.F.A. at the Cleveland Institute of Art, she made her first serious art purchase, “Final Act,” a hand-colored silkscreen print created by Walter Fraunfelder, an upperclassman she admired deeply.
Since then Marzella’s collection has grown significantly to include paintings and drawings by Marjorie Ball, Cindy Baron, Jill Basham, Christina Beecher, Jim Carter, Salvatore Federico, Tracy W. Hambley, Richard Harrington, Michelle Held, Gregor Kammerer, Tim Kelly, Olga Krimon, Claire Marschak, Nicolas Martin, M.A. Podolak, Connie Rigdon, James Ruby, Dennis Sheehan, Phyllis Sloane, Jill Soukup, and Jennifer Stottle Taylor.
Most are smaller in scale, not only because that suits the budget of a working artist, but also because Marzella prefers it that way: “It is pretty impressive,” she declares, “when a small painting is so powerful it draws you across the room.” She continues, “My only criterion for buying a piece is when it stops me in my tracks and connects with me emotionally. I am often amazed at the feeling that comes over me when I see an artwork I absolutely must own. It’s usually an instant reaction.”
Over the years, Marzella has bought art through galleries, festivals, Instagram, and Facebook, but her favorite source is the large and collegial community of artists she knows. Many of their friendships were forged during plein air competitions, which can be physically and psychologically challenging. Whatever the backstory, she believes that “When you purchase a piece from a fellow artist, it is a sign of respect. I usually buy paintings not executed in my style; I think to myself, ‘Wow, I wish I had painted that.’ That’s the greatest compliment an artist can receive.”
Marzella adds that artists often collect works that push them to be better themselves. Though she will name no favorites in the collection, she is particularly “inspired by the freedom of brushwork and enviable paint application” in Olga Krimon’s Wait and Jill Basham’s Charles Street Memory, both illustrated here.
Was there ever something that got away? “Yes, one time I did not purchase a painting I fell in love with,” Marzella admits. “I was on vacation. It was a woman dancing in a red dress. The movement in it was astounding. We wanted to think about it. We wrote down the name of the artist and gallery, but then we misplaced the paper. Unfortunately, we had been in so many galleries that day that we couldn’t remember where we had seen it. To this day, it’s my biggest regret.”
To help her collectors avoid that same pang of regret while they are mulling over their options, Marzella often tells them, “I have never regretted any art purchase I have ever made. In fact, I am inspired daily by every painting I own.” Those are powerful words coming from someone who looks at art constantly, and hopefully those collectors take her advice.
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