Marion Borgelt

[1] Interested in the cosmos, language and phenomenology, Borgelt has discussed maths, science and physics as paths to better understanding the universe and explores these disciplines in her art.

[8] Her investigation of these influences through diverse mediums, has led to collaborations with René Tazé etching atelier in Paris (1990),[1] with printer Fred Genis (1995),[9] with Fondazione Berengo Studio in Murano, Italy (2006–2007)[1] and with Tilt Mechanical Engineers (2020–2021).

When I was about seventeen, I was desperate to leave.” In an interview with Candida Baker for The Australian Weekend Magazine (1999) Borgelt commented that the landscape gave her an understanding of nature as a rich source of material, and was intrigued by its cyclical patterns.

[13] Natural details and a focus on the minute also emerged in her works as seen in Athenian Netherworld and the Night Eye, the subject matter of which has been compared to woven skin cells or webs.

[6] In an interview with Betsy Brennan for Vogue Living Australia, Borgelt explained that “Paris with its historical and complex psychological layering has caused me to open up a range of doors...find a stasis, or centre of my own”.

[15] The suite of symbols featured in her Primordial Series was influenced by Celtic art forms, the Kabbalah belief system and Buddhism and Hinduism.

[17] This symbolic language continued in her series Bottled Histories where timber panels were painted and layered with bees wax before being paired with collected vessels.

[19] Primordial Alphabet and Rhythm was installed as a 15m high work that comprises 12 large painted panels and 10 low relief sculptural discs.

[3] This can be seen in Borgelt's 2004 suite, Cryptologist's Memoir, where she carved into the pages of books and moulded wax into the hollows, creating embedded symbols.

[22] Borgelt drew upon her early interest in natural cycles by depicting the passage of time, using examples such as lunar sequences, as a means to explore these all-encompassing forces.

In 2004 Borgelt was commissioned by JPMorgan Chase to create a work for the 32nd floor of their offices at the Harry Seidler building overlooking Circular Quay.

Her 4000 kg work Time and Tide (wait for no man) arranged sculptural elements in a spiral form, depicting phases of the lunar cycle, suggesting that corporate life is governed by a global clock.

Returning to memories from her rural childhood, and inspired by photographer Peter Leaver's image of approximately 2000 sheep being mustered on Mungadal Station near Hay in Victoria, Borgelt designed Round Up Maze.

During these years her paintings are said to have challenged the flat canvas form, particularly in her Liquid Light suite, which established three-dimensional qualities that dynamically produced movement.

[1] In 2006, for her exhibition Nothing is Invisible at Christine Abrahams Gallery, Borgelt interpreted her journey from her childhood home to the expansive world she's come to experience.

[30] In 2017 Borgelt was commissioned to create a kinetic work that spans a three-storey atrium for Baker McKenzie at Tower One, Barangaroo, New South Wales.

In 2018 Borgelt was commissioned by Melco Crown Resorts in Macau to create a suite of large digital face-mounted photographs for 52 lift lobbies of the Morpheus (hotel), design by Zaha Hadid Architects.

This kinetic work uses crankshaft mechanics to gradually move the large coloured discs in a motion akin to hammers gently hitting piano strings.