Marge Loudon Moody’s Vibrant Art Collection at The Jasper
Charleston’s serene beaches are one source of inspiration in Marge Loudon Moody’s extensive series of artwork in The Jasper’s art collection. Featured in The Jasper residential lobby and The Beach Company offices, her artwork is comprised of several acrylic paintings of varying size. Marge’s artwork is largely environment-based, which emanates from her experience of her home in South Carolina, through traveling and from her imagination.
“Astatic Melody,” a large painting from her Field Lines series, refers to the invisible magnetic lines of force that are present in the earth’s atmosphere. The acrylic on canvas subtly refers to Sullivan’s Island’s beach, one of her favorite places to visit with her husband and sons over the years. Her family would often make trips to Charleston on the weekends, craving the smell of salty breezes off the ocean.
“The Field Lines series began in Charleston, SC, examining random marks made on the beach by tides, winds and grasses,” Marge said. “This body of work describes allegorical situations relating to past and present experiences of which we are all, inevitably, a part. It examines boundaries, addresses the fragility of existence, of presence, of absence and of memory. It explores rich textural surfaces. Painted marks engage in conversation, while muted color promotes sentiments of quietude and of subtle states of being.”
The Field Lines paintings were also influenced by an aerial-view look over Arizona’s arid landscape and vestigial oases, reminding her of natural elements from the beach, which welded into one series.
Marge’s art captures inspiration from different experiences, some of which are close to home. The Scotland native has been painting in her Rock Hill studio since 1985. She loves Charleston’s ambience, the luminous natural light and warmth, its European-influenced architecture and wrought ironwork, the cobblestone streets and year-round flourishing window boxes. In some ways, Charleston reminds her of Italy, Portugal and Spain, where she has enjoyed traveling to over the years. Her beautiful experiences in Charleston and Southern Europe largely inspired the pieces in her collection at The Jasper.
Her artwork was chosen in consultation with Mark Sloan, the acclaimed former Director and Chief Curator of the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art for 26 years, who speaks highly of Marge’s artistry.
“She’s one of the best painters living in South Carolina,” said Mark Sloan.
Marge, now Professor Emeritus (Fine Arts,) taught at Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC, for 30 years. She completed a residency at McColl Center for Art and Innovation in Charlotte, NC in 2006 and at OBRAS – Portugal in 2015. Her work is part of many private and corporate collections in Great Britain and the US, including the South Carolina State Art Collection, the MUSC Contemporary Carolina Collection, Williams and Fudge and the Winthrop University Collection.
We are proud to display some of Marge’s artwork, her contribution to The Jasper art collection is invaluable. Learn more about Marge Loudon Moody by visiting her website at https://margeloudonmoody.weebly.com/.
