Marianna Rothen is an artist who lives and works in New York City. Rothen specializes in photography that creates fragmented, romantic settings within the scope of a nostalgic dystopia. A dreamy blur evolves from the artist’s use of high-grain paper. Combined with decrepit interiors, untamed wilderness and seductive subjects, Rothen’s photographs exude overtones of mystery and dissatisfaction that become part of a larger narrative.

All of Marianna Rothen’s photographs are untitled, allowing the subject matter to set the context. One frame shows a portrait of a veiled bride who gazes directly at the viewer, somewhat unhappy. Another image captures the profile of a jilted brunette whose face is hidden from view as she clutches a gun, evoking a famed cinematic still. These nuanced moments are balanced with pastoral, hazy depictions of bountiful landscapes that suggest a promised end to desolation, despair and fleeting gaiety.

Inspired by film legends of the nouvelle vague as well as dark tragedies, Marianna Rothen presents wistful, confounding portraits that easily connect to anyone’s personal life. Since 2007 her work has exhibited internationally in cities such as New York, Paris, Sydney and Istanbul. Studio KLRP Management, based in Paris, hosted the artist’s first solo show titled Vernisquat in 2007. In 2012 Rothen’s work was included Organic Structures, a group show that appeared at the Annasatoko Gallery in Istanbul, Turkey. During the same year, the artist also had a solo exhibition at KS Contemporary in Cologne, Germany titled Gentle Creatures. Marianna Rothen produced and directed a short film titled Desert of June. Rothen has been represented by the Steven Kasher Gallery which has shown her work at Paris Photo. In November 2018 the artist published Mail Order, available for sale through b.frank books.