In Day Paintings Martin presents a study of light as it changes throughout the day. Beginning with Atlas, he interprets the cool, ethereal beauty of first light, following it with a series of paintings, as it finally dissolves into 'moonrise'.
Day Paintings
Drawing from Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism, Martin's works stand somewhere between painting and sculpture. Using layers of oil or acrylic gel on hard reflective stainless steel, aluminium or Perspex, he fashions comb-like pieces of metal or board to move the paint across the surface in one movement, often repeating it again and again until the perfect balance of paint, translucence and striation is achieved. Like Pollock or De Kooning, there is an emphasis on the physical action of painting; the propulsion of the artist through his work is palpable; described by critic Nick Hackworth as "a single balletic mark-making movement, a visible trace of physical movement through space".
In Day Paintings Martin presents a study of light as it changes throughout the day. Beginning with Atlas, he interprets the cool, ethereal beauty of first light, following it with a series of paintings, as it finally dissolves into "moonrise".
Some works in this exhibition will be a departure from his earlier action paintings as he begins to rationalise the geometry of the panel itself. These works are more deliberate and pre-meditated with a direct figurative source. Although abstract on one level, his work embraces nature and realism on the assumption that the origins of abstraction stem from naturalism.
Lisson Gallery is pleased to also be presenting the first comprehensive catalogue of work by the artist to be launched in conjunction with this exhibition. The book is published by Lisson Gallery and Charta, Milan with a text by Andrew Renton and a foreword by Norman Rosenthal.
Image: Jason Martin, Untitled (Apex), 2004
Preview 20 April 2004, 6-8pm
Opening hours: Mon - Fri 10-6, Sat 11-5
Lisson Gallery, 52-54 Bell Street, London, NW1 5DA
T: 00 44 (0)20 7724 2739 F: 00 44 (0)20 7724 7124