THE NEW FIGURATIVE exhibition at the JoAnne Artman Gallery | New York
Artist America Martin has a new exhibition taking place in New York at present. “The New Figurative” is the title of the show, which explores gender, culture and identity at the JoAnne Artman Gallery. The show runs until February 8, 2018.
The exhibition showcases the fearless, bold use of line and color through the compositions of the artist with a profound sense of form and space. The work of America Martin with these figurative paintings transcends cultural aesthetics as it emerges through the internalized gender aesthetics. The works are in conversation with universal and underlying themes of beauty with nature and the human forms. The exhibition deals with the very nuances of formal idealizations of figure that exist, indeed for both genders and Martin plays upon its duality. The exhibition never overlooks the fact that the exact form of this “perfect” figure is subject to change over time, yet there are certain standards of beauty which always linger back to gender that is constant. To add to this fact, even the ingrained ideas are essential to the identity of males and females. The exhibition at JoAnne Artman Gallery explores the recent works of Martin in light of these invisible nuances of gender perception while it addresses the formal aspects of gender constructs.
America Martin’s compositions of poetic juxtapositions conjure a story, with the figure as a central focal point for much of the framework. Strikingly bold, the expressive lines of Martin’s work are an assimilation of light, color, movement, and form with a unique emphasis on the narrative. The imagery is familiar and transports the viewer, as it is steeped in personal mythology and is deeply allegorical. JoAnne Artman Gallery excavates the space of human forms and its context with the ensemble of work rooted in Martin’s unique approach.
The exhibition quotes on the New York Figurative Expressionism of the 1950s, which was the groundwork that the show has rested upon for the re-introduction of figurative painting as a predominant mode of expression. Quoting on the pure abstraction school of thought instigated by Hans Hoffman, alongside the process of gestural abstraction, figurative painters emerged once again. Much like the still life genre during days of early modernism, even the figures upon the compositions proved fertile while they were the props of expressionism. The explorations were through color relationships with their counterparts of pictorial structures and spatial illusions. Martin’s ensemble is decoding the legacy of utilizing the body’s formal qualities as the prime vehicle to dig deeper into the more visceral aspects of her journey.
The works are alternatively exhilarating and fluid while also densely rich, explore the framework for the art of figuration, portraiture and also the body’s environments. The works are rendered richer being informed as well as characterized by Martin’s Colombian heritage, which helped her to focus on form, narrative and the symbolic.
The exhibition is on view from February 8, 2018, through the Winter and Spring of 2018 at JoAnne Artman Gallery, 511A West 22nd St., New York, NY 10011.
Inside “The New Figurative” Featuring America Martin
Joanne Artman Gallery - Artsy.net
Feb 8, 2018 11:59AM
In advance of our current exhibition at JoAnne Artman Gallery NYC we did an interview with artist America Martin. With the opening reception of the show tonight, we look back at excerpts from our conversation that highlight Martin’s studio practice, process, and the continuing inspiration for her most recent body of work. The primary subject of The New Figurative is Martin’s singular focus throughout her practice on the human figure and the narratives that emerge through the framework of form, subject and formal approach. However, in addition to the figure many of the works are populated with unique anthrophomorphic elements such as birds, butterflies and flowers. For Martin, these elements provide both a contextual source of information as well as symbolic significance, progressing the storyline as a representation of personality, mood and character. Here we take a look at two of the works from the show to give context to the conversation.
Woman & Blue Bird | Oil and acrylic on canvas | 65.5” X 51” in. (166.37 cm x 129.54 cm)
In Woman & Blue Bird, Martin returns to one of her favorite pairings - the female figure in a composition with birds. The bird is a recurring symbol and theme for Martin, a frequent partner to the female form and often shown interacting with the figure, mouth open in song and the wings open as though about to take flight. In this particular instance, the pairing creates a beautiful contrast between the complexity of line used to create the female figure, and the clear simplicity of the animal form, articulated in only a few simple shapes.
A very different approach is taken with Butterfly Woman II, a delicately drawn work in pencil and paper that is echoed by a larger Butterfly Womanoil and acrylic on canvas piece in the show. Here, the human body is broken down into simple lines and shapes of primary colors, similar to Martin’s treatment of the bird. The shapes seem to float and hover on the surface, echoing both human limbs as well as the triangular spans of the butterfly wings.
Butterfly Woman II | Ink and pencil on paper | 8-1/8” X 20-3/4” In. (20.6375 X 52.705 cm)
Interview by Joanne Artman
JA: What are some of the strongest influences on your work?
AM: Everything under the sun, you know like being alive &
The composer I’m listening to (currently Glen Gould),
The audio books I’m enthralled with
The bold shapes of David Park
The soft lines of Henry Matisse
The whimsy of Pablo Picasso
The romantic howl of Thomas Houseago
The composition of Romare Bearden
And on and on
JA: In your studio practice, how do you begin each new day? When starting and working on a new body of work, what are some of your considerations?
AM: I begin each day in the brief deliberation on whether to make coffee or Green tea, then the rest is easy. I just start moving - either finishing a piece / varnishing a work / putting up canvas / carrying buckets / lifting heavy things - just the usual. When starting a new body of work...Well I think of many things, but a new practice I look forward to doing is choosing a very slender, all same color palette, and in those constraints find a full course meal - metaphorically speaking of course.
JA: How has working in such a vast array of mediums affected your practice? Which medium do you enjoy working with the most?
AM: I believe one must continually change the medium - At least I must. Ideas come and you think, well what if I painted on ______ ? Fill in the blank. Would it satisfy? Most of the time it does not (which is disappointing), and some if the time it does satisfy (which is a happy thing), but the problem with being an artist with a voracious aesthetic appetite is as soon as one thing works, I am dreaming of something new.
JA: How would you describe the space which women occupy in your work?
AM: The female form in my work is my terra ferma and the blue tent of the sky - I am almost bonkers -ly always made happy with capturing a nose, the angle of a hip - deciding to give a foot five or six toes. I started life drawing classes when I was a kid and the female form was a constant - the beauty of that landscape I am never bored by.
JA: Various animals such as birds, rabbits, and snakes often inhabit your work, frequently in
composition with the female form, could you talk a little about their significance?
AM: Animals in my work help create the narrative i have in my mind when I’m making a piece. If it’s a rabbit it can mean the woman is so chill that rabbits are willing to frolic about her. If it’s a snake it can mean the woman is strong and able and is at cause over the wild ways of nature - or it just is compositionally nice to put a zig zag shape of a snake in the piece.
JA: Do you feel that your focus or interest has shifted over the years in terms of subject, or is it more of a continuity?
AM: When you do anything for many years - the process changes on you - and this is a blessing and can feel terrible and awkward when it happens but is needed - because it demands your focus to bend - allowing you to see new ways of seeing and making - and because the subject is essentially the same - it makes for an interesting look back over the years.
JA: The worlds that your work creates feel very warm and welcoming, do you have a certain feeling you wish to pass on to the viewer, or particular emotions in mind when making your work?
AM: That’s cool to hear, thank you. Not to sound like a Pollyanna, but I find this life a very joyful thing - although I am well aware of the world and life’s shadows and general lameness, I tend to focus on the positive. My intention is to create work that feels the way I feel when I see something Un-embarrassed and true - like a big foot or flowers - or hear the horn solo of Eric Dolphy. I know my tastes are simple and so I make what I’d like to see - the fact that I get to share what I make, that it becomes a communication between the work and the collector, well that’s just the cat’s pajamas, the bees knees and every other wonderful thing.
“THE NEW FIGURATIVE” Featuring America Martin opens Thursday February 8th, with an Artist’s Reception from 6-8pm.
@ JoAnne Artman Gallery 511A West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011.
For more information about the artist or to read the full interview please contact JoAnne Artman at joanneartman@aol.com.