Interview
Marcia Nebera
The paintings of Marcia Nebera combine a sense of fashion, whimsy and eroticism that invites comparison to artists like Erte’, Leon Bakst and Tamara de Lempicka, evoking the Cafe’ Society years of the 1920’s and ‘30’s and the Ballet Russes. Her artistic direction has taken many twists and turns beginning with a certificate in fashion design from Bauder Fashion College in Miami, Florida.
First a designer of women’s clothing for Hernand Henriquez in the Dominican Republic, Nebera later studied liberal arts, architectural drawing and art history at Glendale College in Los Angeles. She continued her academic work branching out into fine art, film and fashion at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California and Otis-Parsons School of Art in Los Angeles.
Nebera cites as influential teachers: painters Harry Carmean, Lori Madden and Vernon Taylor; film makers Francis Ford Coppola and Gray Fredrickson (The Godfather trilogy and early Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns); illustrator Bill Robles (Patty Hearst trial), Jack Linwood (Max Factor); photographers Ed Handler (Roman Polanski) and Mario Casilli (Playboy magazine centerfolds, 1962-1981).
Concurrent with her studies, Nebera worked in commercial interior design and clothing manufacturing and design before establishing her own company, manufacturing a line of lingerie in Puerto Rico, designing for Neiman Marcus, with showrooms in all major cities in the United States. Nebera Lingerie appeared in shows in New York and Europe, drawing international press and television coverage during her successful eighteen-year career in the fashion industry.
During the 1980’s Nebera owned and operated the Nebera Gallery at the Denver Interplaza., where she exhibited works by 20th century artists. During this time she was featured in a PBS documentary “Threads”, that explored the world of fashion manufacturing and design, and she has also appeared on Fox News and NBC New York and Denver. Nebera has exhibited her own drawings and paintings through a variety of venues in Florence, Italy, BMOCA (The Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art), Colorado Ballet, The Bayleaf Boulder, The Collection Denver, and various charitable organizations for benefits and fundraising events including The Bailey House Auction and Gala in New York and the Cancer League of Denver’s Hope Ball.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“Art Center College of Design Pasadena, California is where I studied fine art and film making. I also graduated from Bauder Fashion College in Miami, having designed and manufactured women's clothing in Southern California, New York, Denver and Puerto Rico, and selling to Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, and many other stores for over 18 years.
My journey began at the age of three, when I began drawing women in evening gowns and horses – it has never ceased. I studied art in my early years and won many awards and scholarships. I have done painting and drawing residencies from the mid-1980's through 2012, with Harry Carmean in his Laurel Canyon Studio Los Angeles, California, Santa Barbara, California and the high desert Acton, California.
In 2012 I began my studies in drawing and painting at SRISA Santa Reparata International School of Art Florence, Italy. I established a studio in Florence then moved to Rome in 2018. While in Rome, I exhibited at the prestigious Galleria 28 Piazza di Pietra. During my time traveling in Europe I painted in Scotland, England, France, Italy, Greece, Crete and Romania. In 2019 I studied drawing and painting at the La Napoule Foundation Mandilieu-La Napoule, France. Currently I reside in Denver, Colorado where I maintain a painting studio.”
What inspires you most?
“I am constantly inspired to draw and paint. I always have so many ideas! I am always sketching or painting. Beauty inspires me. Whether it is a seascape with a gorgeous sky, or someone with an interesting face. I am always curious.”
“When I travel, I always bring along watercolors and a block to paint. I love the sea, boats, houses, landscapes, people and architecture.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“My themes combine a sense of fashion, whimsy and eroticism that invites comparison to artists like Erte', Leon Bakst, Tamara de Lempicka, evoking the Cafe' Society years of the 1920's and '30's and the Ballet Russes. I paint classical motifs and nudes. My message is love and beauty.”
How would you describe your work?
“I lean towards Mannerism from the High Renaissance. I have been influenced by the Florentine painters: Pontormo, Raphael, Carvavaggio, Parmigianino, Michelangelo, Vasari and others. The composition of the nude figures I draw and paint are elegant and graceful, somewhat elongated and stylized with classical motifs and pictorial fantasies. The colors are intense and unnatural. When I paint my oils or pastels I use sketches that I have done from life models. My plein air watercolors and oils are in the style of French Impressionism.”
“I would like to release the mind forged manacles that limit our dreams and goals.”
Which artists influence you most?
“There are many artists who inspire me: Watteau, Fragonard and Boucher are masters of drapery; Pontormo, Caravaggio , Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, Ingres, Pascin for his undulating line; Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Bonnard, Picasso and Monet. When I spent time on the Cote d'Azur in 2019, I visited so many beautiful museums along the Cote d'Azur from Cap Antibes, Mougins, and Nice, seeing works by Chagall, Monet, Bonnard, Picasso. It was so inspiring to see so many well known works everyday, in so many different museums.”
What is your creative process like?
“Ah, the magical creative process is so easy for me. I have dreams at night of what I want to do. I have visions and I daydream as well! When I walk outside and take a breath of sweet air I imagine how it might look. My ideas are always flowing like water.
I love to listen to piano music: Dvorak's Dumky Trio, Alan Hovhaness, Spirit of the Trees, Janacek, On an Overgrown Path, In the Mists. I love opera and listening to vocalists like Julia Lezhneva singing Vivaldi: Gloria; Juan Diego Florez, Granada, Handel Operas, Acis and Galatea. My good friend William Basinski's music is thought provoking and heady. I think you get the idea. My creative process is an essential part of my being. I have an inexhaustible imagination and surround myself with beauty.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“My role as an artist in society is to uplift the human spirit, to bring beauty into people's lives. I shall never forget watching a man literally cry with tears of joy when he saw my exhibition in Rome. I would like to provide the energy to elevate people's hearts and minds to a more noble, ethereal, graceful level where there is an understanding of good and evil in this apocalyptic time.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I have had many exhibitions. Every autumn for the last seven years I have participated in the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art ARTMIX Boulder, Colorado group show and auction. In 2019 I did a solo exhibit during Denver Arts Week, Oh La La, showcasing many of the paintings I had painted on the Cote d'Azur. Also I exhibited with the other artists in August of 2019 at the LA Napoule Foundation, Mandilieu -La Napoule, France. In the spring of 2018 I exhibited my Florentine Nudes paintings and drawings in Rome at the prestigious 28 Piazza di Pietra Galleria. Also, in February 2018 I showed my watercolors of Mykonos, Santorini and other Greek Islands at Alibi Gallery Sarri 12 Athens, Greece. In 2017 I exhibited my ballet paintings and drawings at Colorado Ballet Denver, Colorado. I also exhibited my oil paintings from Crete and St.Barth's watercolors in 2017 at the Denver Athletic Club. I had an open studio exhibit in 2013 Florence, Italy of my Florentine Nudes, oil paintings, pastels and drawings. I exhibited in a group show at Santa Reparata International School of Art SRISA in 2012 Florence, Italy.
I will be exhibiting at the Salon d'Automne in Paris this October 2022. I have another painting show in Denver this August and just participated in Timeless the group show at the Denver Art Students League in February 2022, Denver, Colorado.”
