Marlaina Schimans’ work examines the psychological complexity of intimacy, perception, and identity as experienced through the medium of the body.

Marlaina Schiman is a Philadelphia-based painter working out of James Oliver Gallery. Working from close observation, their paintings depict figures in states of proximity where weight, contact, and spatial relation register intimacy and tension, inter- and intrapersonally. These observed moments extend into more constructed compositions in which the figure folds, repeats, and fragments into layered configurations, positioning the body as both shaped by and acting upon the conditions it inhabits.

Schiman’s work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions across Pennsylvania, including exhibitions at James Oliver Gallery, the Trenton City Museum, the Alice Paul Center for Gender Justice, and Powell Lane Arts Center.

Schiman is the recipient of the Harvey and Harriet Alpert Creative Achievement in Fine Arts Medallion and the Jeanne Hartman Memorial Scholarship, and received a National Gold Medal in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. In addition to their studio practice, they have completed public mural projects for Rowan University and the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum and have produced cover artwork for the Journal of Ontological Inquiry in Education.