Marc Malberg always liked to draw and to study art history. He educated himself in the techniques of the old masters. He wanted to emulate their portrayal of heroic figures. At the same time he became expert in their practices, he became aware that the images in the paintings absorbing him were almost completely based on mythology and the New Testament. Scenes from the Old Testament figured in their works only when they related to New Testament themes. At that realization, Malberg decided that he would create a body of work based on Old Testament texts on a scale that would have the impact of those European Renaissance and Baroque paintings he admired so much. Malberg wanted to paint like the old masters - figurative, anatomically accurate, narrative, theatrical.
In addition to his admiration of the old masters, he is also drawn to 20th century modernism and particularly interested in the Surrealists, especially Dali’s figurative paintings. The actors in Malberg’s paintings engage with each other and the viewer in a dream landscape with an occasional prop. His conceptions are based on his own interpretations of biblical passages. The burning bush is a Firethorn surrounding an angelic young woman, Isaac resists his father Abraham, Eve is created as if surgically removed from Adam.
Scale and perspective are crucial elements in his visual vocabulary. As an Orthopaedic surgeon, anatomic relationships are thoughtful enlisted to convey the message. The scale of Malberg’s paintings make a statement of presence, you can’t ignore the message. Malberg’s paintings connect the past to the present in many ways, but you always feel they are statements of the 21st century.