Justin Lee Marable
Emerging Artist Award, Visual and Fine Art

Justin Marable was born in the small town of Guthrie, Oklahoma. At the age of five his family moved to Robinson, a northeastern Kansas farm town. Throughout his childhood and adolescence, Justin learned and wandered within the boundaries of his hometown, observing the landscape and landmarks of the surrounding areas.

Printmaking, particularly serigraphy, have become his methods to express social issues and past recollections in and around the Midwestern landscape. Justin graduated from KU in May 2005 with a BFA in printmaking. He currently resides in the Kenwood neighborhood of Topeka with his wife and two daughters.  He works full time at his home as an artist, husband, and father.  

Artist Statement

Throughout my past, thoughts have wandered into open countryside, cluttered cityscapes, and places in between. In my wanderings, I continue to develop a deeper understanding of the history within the Midwestern landscape and its urban and rural centers. The history of a place is vitally important in defining a community's environmental and social conditions.

As I reflect on my rural moments, life merges with the city. It is here where connections form together to create a clear perspective, in which beauty can be observed in the familiar, and contentment can be achieved in the surroundings of a place. With the medium of serigraphy, I can express the man-made qualities of rural and urban architecture with a photographic stencil technique. Simultaneously, I evoke changing atmosphere within the land and skies by using mono print and paper stencil techniques.

Within my work, a common element of sky floats with permanence above the structures. The sky, in all its beauty, can outweigh the sadness or solitude of any place. It can provide a link between countrysides and cityscapes to connect rural residents and metropolitan citizens.

I also emphasize a need for social and environmental change by utilizing 'alternative' possibilities. These hopeful possibilites can be achieved through imagination and creative problem solving. When applied to the landscape and threatened environment, universal attention gathers support on the boundaries of a new beginning.