Donald Martiny: Ècriture

Madison Gallery is thrilled to announce Donald Martiny’s eighth solo exhibition with the gallery titled Ècriture. This groundbreaking exhibition debuts a new body of work by the artist, an exploration of mark-making inspired by a study of the early works of Henri Mattisse and Hans Hartung. 

Marks are the foundation upon which artwork is built. An artist's signature mark-making style is a defining characteristic, unique to each artist. Art historians recognize and validate works based on brush marks. In both the content and process of his art, Martiny is interested in the layering of time, history of painting and drawing, and of various meanings and associations. His art situates itself in the context of the history of Western civilization as well as the process-oriented aspects of Abstract Expressionism.

Writing and language also serves as conceptual foundations for Martiny’s gestural mark making.Here he focused on the process of writing, both by sketching unidentifiable doodles and marks and by creating line-based compositions, often inspired by handwriting or pictographs in various languages including Indo-aryan languages such as Sanskrit, Semitic languages, and Eastern languages. Through these methods, he is able to suggest subtle narratives that lay beneath the surfaces of his works. His oeuvre is a direct reflection of and response to the history and beauty found in art historical sources, striving to balance the history of the past with his own sensual and emotional responses to it.

Donald Martiny was born in Schenectady, NY in 1953 and currently lives and works in Connecticut. He studied at the School of the Visual Arts, The Art Students League in New York, New York University and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. 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. In 2015 Martiny received the Sam & Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts Residency Grant and his work has been featured in the Huffington Post, NPR, Philadelphia Inquirer, VOGUE LIVING | Australia, New American Paintings | South and Woven Tale Press. Martiny’s work is represented by galleries in Europe, the US and Asia and is collected internationally. 

NOTABLE COLLECTIONS 

Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix
The Crocker Museum of Art, Sacramento, CA
The Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth TX
The Newcomb Museum of Art at Tulane University, New Orleans, LA Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN
The Lamborghini Museum, Sant’Agata Bolognaese, Italy
One World Trade Center, New York City, NY
Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, CA