Square X Square by Margo Ogden

Gardiner, Maine - As a painter who uses an etching press as a tool, Margo Ogden employs a process of laying down individual inked squares in a grid then works back into each with ink and tools until a satisfying image emerges. Margo Ogden became hooked on printing and painting squares when she and her son collaborated. He would create a digital print which she would then print and paint into. It was through this process that Margo began her fascination with grid work.

In her current body of work, Margo inks 4x4 squares and carefully lays them into a pre-drawn pencil grid. A process she says is like a puzzle, “I have found that as one color goes down I need to leave that square in place while I put other colors down. This make the process even more like a game; what color is under which board.” After the prints are down and dry she works back into them adding both color and texture.

Margo Ogden has a classical background in painting having studied at Boston University in the 1970's. Upon graduation she relocated from Massachusetts to Maine where she was a founding member of Praxis, an artist run gallery in Freeport, Maine. There she expanded from painting to mixed media and fiber arts. In the mid-90's she returned to academia to study with New York University's Venice Program where she received her master’s degree. Her time in Italy inspired her to return to painting and is still a source of inspiration for the monotypes she makes today.

Monkitree, a gallery at 263 Water Street in historic downtown Gardiner, will host the show with an opening reception on Friday, December 2nd from 5:30-8pm during Artwalk Gardiner. The show will be on view through January 19th.