Small Green 1

“What could be more demanding and time consuming than painting tree leaves one by one?” Mari asks. The linden in the sunshine (Little Green 1) and the willow at dusk (Little Green 2) seem to have been painted and driven by such a need for concentration. Although they are reminiscent of a vine branch from a much earlier picture pair (View 1 , 2, 1975), these nature studies have been painted from numerous photographs. The light, which is so important for Mari, plays a special role here: “The main thing is light … delving into it is like therapy… The paintings always slowly reveal what has been put in them,” the artist says about her pictures.