Last week in Los Angeles, Italian furniture design group Flexform debuted the solo exhibition of Leo Marmol’s latest series, “Fields of Desire.” On view through April 28 in Flexform’s West Hollywood showroom, the visionary architect and artist’s poignant works of oil and cold wax are presented within the freshly re-envisioned space—created by renowned architect and designer Antonio Citterio—alongside the latest Flexform 2022 indoor and outdoor collection. In the immersive show, graceful and sumptuous handcrafted furniture sets the scene for the artist’s tender exploration of human psychology through vibrant color.
Courtesy of the artist.
Based in Los Angeles, Marmol was inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame in 2009, having restored legendary mid-century modern structures such as Palm Springs Art Museum’s Architecture and Design Center, the Kaufmann House, and fashion designer Trina Turk’s “Ship of the Desert.” His transcendence into painting is a natural one, offering insight into the mind of a fiercely creative and insightful individual.
Leo Marmol, “A Thousand Blades of Grass,” 2022, 30 x 30 in., oil and cold wax on board; courtesy of the artist.
Artwork titles such as Strange Devotions, Eulogy for Yesterday’s Dawn, and Raging Horizon evoke acute observations of mother nature’s piercing and mysterious effect on humanity. Forgotten, an abstract landscape in hot crimson and descending shades of moss invites the viewer into a passionate and infernal affair. Wind’s Caress plays with perception, unfurling hazy shades of gold and olive, sliced by burgundy, so that sky and horizon are no longer points of direction but unrestrained vibrations of ozone and longing.
Leo Marmol, “Vestige of Love,” 2022, 30 x 30in., oil and cold wax on board; courtesy of the artist.
One can sense Marmol’s sixth sense for architecture, as each and every painting opens a capable portal into a private, meditative space that reflects our primal yearnings for, and everlasting fascinations with, the universe and each other. Beneath the artworks, Flexform’s sleek and sensuous sofas, armchairs, and coffee tables in peaceful earth tones form an ideal environment for enveloping rumination, creativity, and connection.
Leo Marmol, “Raging Horizon,” 2022, 30 x 30 in., oil and cold wax on board; courtesy of the artist.
Leo Marmol, “Forgotten,” 2022, 30 x 30 in., oil and cold wax on board; courtesy of the artist.
