DOUG MARTIN turns his attention to the city in his new
paintings, more specifically to his downtown Manhattan neighborhood. MARTIN focuses on elevated views of SoHo that
look at, over, and into city streets and buildings, effectively hinting at
myriad travel routes, travelers, and possibilities. In his daily routine MARTIN literally walks through these
scenes and observes his subject in detail, sensitive to seasonal light and
weather conditions. MARTIN finds quiet
moments within the public frenzy of the metropolis, moments which recall the
intimacy of the still life, which he expresses through a palette of simple
colors.
Color is the key to
these compositions as MARTIN invites
the viewer to explore the abstract trail of color and light as readily as one
might follow the rhythm of windows. As
the viewer's eye
wanders over the painting, it can move back through the history of the painting
to an earlier layer of information barely touched. This notion of movement best
expresses what gives these paintings energy: a reverberation between
microscopic and telescopic views in each image. As MARTIN explains, “We sense the organic flow of the
street while our eyes judge the mass of architecture. We are close enough to identify specific
details of masonry and distant enough to see those bricks become an entire
block of buildings.” As with his earlier Adirondack landscapes, these new images convey
specificity of place while also exploring the abstraction of painting.
Born in Kansas, DOUG MARTIN currently lives and works in
New York City. MARTIN’s work is included in distinguished public
collections including the Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA;
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE;
and Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
The exhibition will be on view at the Charles Cowles
Gallery, 537 West 24th Street,
between 10th and 11th Avenues in Chelsea.
Hours are 10am to 6pm, Tuesday through Saturday.
There will be a reception for the artist on Thursday,
January 8 from 5:30-7:30 pm.
For further information or photographs, please contact the
gallery.
Image: Morning, 2003, oil on canvas, 74 x 70
inches