Atomic Breakfast (9x12) SOLD

Atomic Lunch (9x12) SOLD

Atomic Dinner (9x12) SOLD

Wheel in the Sky (14x18) $350	Starburst Space (24x36) SOLD	After Dinner Conception (36x48) Artist Collection
Appetizer Plate (12x12) SOLD	Vitamin Plate (18x18) SOLD	Swallow (20x20) SOLD
Abstract Eichler 1 (24x30) SOLD	Abstract Eichler 2 (24x30) SOLD	Abstract Eichler 3 (30x40) SOLD

PRESS RELEASE:

A Fabulous Fifties Feast for the Eyes at Atomic Repast

A repast is the food and drink shared with friends. Atomic Repast is a feast for the eyes with a decidedly 'retro' perspective. Mary-Margaret Stratton's recent series of abstract acrylic paintings, Atomic Repast, is motivated by her love for Mid Century Modern 1950s and 1960s design. The work in this series is a celebration of the meal and creative energy. Mary-Margaret was primarily inspired by her collection of 1950s Franciscan Starburst dinnerware and the tones of her 1964 Eichler home. Infused in these paintings is a sense of vibrancy and movement with amoebic shapes that intertwine and connect in an embryonic fluid of paint. Mary-Margaret's use of color and shape captures the sensibility of Modernists who took their inspiration from the organic world and who conceived and believed in a brighter, fresher, better world of tomorrow.

The work of Mid Century Modernists was often about progress. Mary-Margaret takes inspiration from this outlook and gives it a new fresh face for the future. The triptic, Atomic Breakfast, Atomic Lunch and Atomic Dinner mark less precise intervals and these studies along with After Dinner Conception, Starburst Space, Appetizer Plate, Vitamin Plate, and Swallow show a certain vitality and movement. Reoccurring abstract shapes that symbolize waves of time along with circles or spheres that seem to spin like clockworks appear. The abstract circular and oblong shapes you see in the paintings are actually formed from traced outlines of real vintage 1950s Franciscan dishes. These dishes are never perfectly round and have a very organic feeling to them and the artist makes reference to the speckled finish and imperfections in the glazes.

Mary-Margaret Stratton is an Award Winning Creative Director from Los Angeles. She is a native Southern Californian and yes, proud to be a Valley Girl. Mary-Margaret was born at UCLA and received her Bachelors of Arts in Design there many years later. She also holds a degree in Marketing. She has worked as a consultant for over fifteen years providing graphic design, illustration and writing for the likes of Mattel, DreamWorks, IBM, Canon, Intel, Toshiba and Xerox.

Mary-Margaret is active in the preservation of Modern and roadside landmarks in Southern California. She recently produced the critically acclaimed and widely publicized How Modern Was My Valley tour of Postwar architecture in the San Fernando Valley for the Los Angeles Conservancy and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. A former Los Angeles radio personality, Mary-Margaret produced and co-hosted On the Town a weekly drive-time show about popular 'retro' events and personalities around Los Angeles at national public radio station, KCSN.

In her rare spare time, Mary-Margaret writes and performs music. She and her husband, musician Cary Stratton, have self-produced two independent CD's. Together they love to scour estate sales with friends for an eclectic mix of collectibles which they display in their 1964 A. Quincy Jones designed Eichler home in the Valley.

For more information please contact:
M-M Stratton