Where Passion Meets Texture: The Art of Marjorie Raymond
For over two decades, French-Brazilian artist Marjorie Raymond has been quietly building a body of work defined by intensity, vulnerability, and instinct. Her creative journey began as a personal exploration – an attempt to give form to emotions too complex to verbalize. What emerged over the years is a distinctive visual language that combines painting with raw materials like rock, charcoal, and diamond dust. Marjorie doesn’t just paint; she constructs, deconstructs, and reconstructs emotion, using her canvases as both battleground and refuge. Her process is unfiltered, deeply intuitive, and marked by an unwavering commitment to honesty.
Marjorie’s artistic journey began in childhood. “Since I was little, I’ve been painting and sculpting,” she shares. Though self-taught, she’s sustained a professional career spanning over 25 years, with exhibitions ranging from solo showcases to corporate and public installations. Her clientele includes members of royal families, famous hotels like Bvlgari and Atlantis, and art lovers from New York to Africa. “I never went to any art school,” she says. “I learned just by passion—by doing it myself.” With French and Indian heritage, a childhood in Brazil, and nearly two decades in Dubai, Marjorie’s cultural exposure is vast. “I’ve been in Dubai for almost 20 years,” she says. “My market is mostly the Middle East, but I also have international clients.” Recently, she was invited by a Gulf country’s Minister of Culture to hold a solo exhibition, a moment she describes with reverence. “I saw one of the most incredible collections of art imaginable. I can’t share the details yet, but it will be amazing.”
Her work is instantly recognizable and takes some time to create. Whether sculpture or painting, each of Marjorie’s pieces is painstakingly crafted. Sculptures can take up to a year; paintings, anywhere from two weeks to six weeks. Known for its layered textures and striking detail, she often uses unconventional materials like charcoal and rocks—not merely for aesthetic, but to evoke a tactile, emotional response. “It’s not about making it pretty,” she explains. “It’s about expressing something that resonates deeply.” She laughs about how people react when they see her large, commanding works: “They look at me—petite and gentle—and say, ‘You did this?’ They always think it’s a man’s work.”
This artistic ethos is at the heart of her latest solo exhibition, Transference, that was showing at the Mercedes-Benz Brand Centre in Dubai Design District in May-June 2025. The show presented a deeply immersive experience – each work a portal into Raymond’s inner world, each layer of media a register of emotion that defies traditional categorization. Visitors were not simply viewing art; they were encountering fragments of human experience rendered tactile and luminous. “The mix of luxury cars, the architecture, and my fine art—it felt like a perfect match,” – Marjorie shares.
Marjorie Raymond’s practice straddles abstraction and storytelling. Her pieces are emotionally charged landscapes, filled with unexpected textures and color harmonies that draw the viewer in, then challenge them to linger. “Each of my pieces takes quite a long time,” Marjorie explains. “They’re very, very detailed.” One of the most striking works on display is Ecstasy II, a towering 270x200cm mixed media canvas. More than just its physical size, it commands attention with a powerful composition that interweaves paint, minerals, and charred material into an emotional topography. Each hue speaks to a specific psychological state Raymond experienced during the work’s creation—blues that ache with longing, reds that pulse with desire, and silvers that shimmer like fleeting clarity.
Art, for her, is therapeutic. “I go into a completely different world,” Marjorie explains. “I can paint for eight hours straight without realizing time has passed. I go through every emotion—calm, euphoria, even anger.” Her home studio is also a playground for her three daughters, including identical twins, all of whom are creatively inclined. “They love painting and playing violin,” she says fondly. “They even asked me to include their art at the Mercedes show!”
What sets Raymond apart is the way her work interacts with the viewer. Her paintings don’t just sit passively on the wall; they seem to reach outward, inviting response. Some canvases evoke a physical sensation, almost like a touch, while others ignite a memory or spark an emotion that can’t be immediately placed. Whether it’s the riot of colors representing infatuation or the cool melancholy of unspoken longing, each piece serves as a mirror—reflecting not just the artist’s soul, but also aspects of the viewer’s own emotional landscape. In a world often overwhelmed by noise, Marjorie Raymond’s work offers a rare kind of clarity: a visual testimony to the raw, unfiltered experience of being human.
When asked about being approached to create NFT collections, Marjorie confesses she has yet to step into the digital art space. “I’m a disaster with technology,” she admits with a smile. “I can’t grasp the concept of something floating in the air. For me, art is physical.” Though twice invited by figures in the crypto world, she’s turned down the opportunities, simply because they don’t resonate with her.
Marjorie encourages emerging artists to explore all mediums. “Try things you never imagined yourself doing—watercolors, oils, acrylics, charcoal. One of them will connect with your vibrations, with who you are. That’s when the magic happens.” As she prepares for her next major exhibition, Marjorie remains deeply rooted in her practice and philosophy: create with authenticity, express without fear, and always pursue the passion that started it all.
