"New Work" | Donald Martiny

RECENT WORKS by Donald Martiny
August 1 – September 28, 2019
Opening Reception Thursday, August 1, 6-9 PM

Martine Chaisson Gallery is pleased to present Recent Works by Donald Martiny; a limited collection of Martiny’s most recent explorations.
Donald Martiny was born in Schenectady, NY in 1953 and currently lives and works in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Museum exhibitions include the FWMoA, Courtauld Institute of Art, Alden B Dow Museum of Art, Falmouth Museum, and the Cameron Art Museum. In 2015 Martiny received a commission from the Durst Organization to create two monumental paintings that are permanently installed in the lobby of One World Trade Center in New York City. Martiny’s work is represented by galleries in Europe, the US and Australia and is collected internationally.

Martiny works with paint, color, and form; elements from the history of painting often referring to color or manner of paint application from diverse areas on the art-historical timeline. His current exploration is in the presence and power of gesture made to exist forever in the present. “What I want to happen is for the space between the painting and the viewer to become activated, encouraging the viewer to form a relationship and interact with the work. Beyond an observational viewing experience, I am encouraging engagement and participation with the painting. By eschewing the ground (canvas or panel) altogether, the painting directly addresses the viewer and relates more dynamically to the space around it.” These massive brushstrokes offer a potent exchange inviting the viewer closer, even inside the work. The intimacy is instantaneous and intensely visceral. His paintings are not a depiction of an experience, rather they are the experience.