hard to believe we are opening the last show of 2023 today for donald martiny and francis livingston with a bang-up installation. we intentionally paired Donald and francis together due to their shared love of the brushstroke. donald martiny focuses on the importance of the singular brushstroke historically. particularly how one brushstroke can make a painting. francis livingston’s brushstrokes are very distinct and ordered. upclose they are very abstract but from afar form a very realistic painting. francis has a unique way of applying his brushstrokes in a mesmerising pattern across his surfaces. we hope everyone can see the impact of the brushstroke.
Donald martiny
nostalgia for the light
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. donald’s work is in the permanent collections of the crocker art museum in sacramento, ca; the newcomb art museum at tulane university in new orleans, la; the fwmoa, fort wayne, in and the lamborghini museum in bologna, italy.
martiny’s water-based polymer and pigment on aluminium paintings are made on the floor using mostly his own hands to manipulate the paint to capture the essence of a brushstroke. he is considered a action painter; one who physically acts out their emotions through paint. mounting the works on aluminium suspending off the wall results in a sculptural relief.
donald martiny at the 59th venice biennale
the title of the exhibition of donald martiny’s new polymer and pigment wall sculptures is nostalgia for the light. a documentary by patricio guzmán of that same name features astronomers gaspar galaz, george preston, and valentina rodriguez, who talk about how the calcium in our bodies comes from the stars. how we are very much part of the universe and are made up of the same elements. donald using the same calcium in his paint. so the stars, artists, paintings and the viewers are all made of the same calcium. we are unified.
as we look up at the stars, one star may be 8 light years away while the star next to it may be 300 light years away. time becomes very abstract.
all of the works in this exhibition have been named after stars. the large constellation work, auriga, is named after a constellation. each of the 5 pieces that make up that work are titled after stars in that constellation. in fact they are named after the location they appear in the constellation. for example the light aqua work that is placed at the top right of the painting is named capella-aurigae and the star with that name appears at the top right in the constellation when viewed from earth.
“brushstrokes are dances trapped in paintings.”
francis livingston studied at the rocky mountain school of art in denver before moving to san francisco in 1975 to attend the academy of art. he later taught there for 10 years. influenced by sargent and whistler, livingston painted primarily in a monochromatic style until he began to study the work of the bay area figurative movement, including richard diebenkorn, wayne thiebaud and others. with a love for nostalgia, he paints places which may no longer exist or that have lost their luster. his bold and impressionistic paintings take the viewer back in time to the day when amusement parks with wooden roller coasters, movie theatres with neon signs and buildings with ornate embellishments were in their prime. francis livingston is known for his thickly applied brush strokes that emphasize shape rather than line, creating an abstract approach to realism. his scenes of yesteryear have exciting movement, color, texture and balance.
all available work by each artist can be viewed on our website under their individual tabs including sizing + pricing. hidell brooks gallery is by appointment. please call the gallery if you have any further questions.