Mall by Bruce Marsh

Mall by Bruce Marsh

AVON PARK, Fla. – Nov. 3, 2022 – “Bruce Marsh: A Long Glance” features recent panoramic paintings of everyday people and places in rural and suburban Florida by University of South Florida (USF) Professor Emeritus Bruce Marsh. “Bruce Marsh: A Long Glance” is on view now through Friday, Nov. 18, at the South Florida State College (SFSC) Museum of Florida Art and Culture (MOFAC) on the Highlands Campus in Avon Park.

“Bruce Marsh is a legendary painter in Florida,” said Anthony Record, MOFAC curator. “He has sustained a critical and rigorous painting practice that has evolved over decades, and countless artists have been influenced by his teaching at USF from 1969-2003.”

Mostly known for his closely observed landscape paintings, this is the first time an exhibition has been devoted entirely to his “Groups” paintings of ordinary people in ordinary, but spatially complex, places. Painted in oil on linen or aluminum, the paintings have extreme proportions—most of the canvases are six to eight feet wide and only about two feet high.

“Marsh’s work is extremely technically accomplished,” Record said. “And it’s incredible to see the detail he’s able to portray in these paintings of ordinary places with just a few carefully considered brush strokes.”

Many of the paintings were made during and immediately after COVID quarantine periods in 2020 and 2021. “Especially now that people are more comfortable gathering in public again, the paintings really make you aware of how we took for granted the great pleasures of spending time with others even in everyday locations like a mall, a diner, or the backyard,” Record said.

Learn more about Bruce Marsh and see examples of his work by viewing this MOFAC-produced video: https://youtu.be/dAoi99p_Hlw

MOFAC is located at 600 West College Drive, SFSC Highlands Campus, in Avon Park. For more information, call the Museum Office at 863-784-7130.