Agnes Martin 1912, Macklin, Canada-2004, Taos, NM, USA
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The work of Agnes Martin has been described as an “essay in discretion on inwardness and silence.” While she is often categorized as a minimalist, Martin identified herself as an abstract expressionist and was one of the prominent figures of Abstract Expressionism in the 20th century.
1912, Macklin, Canada–2004, Taos, NM, USA
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As a young adult, Martin moved to the United States, first to Bellingham, Washington, in 1931, then to New York in 1941, and finally to Albuquerque, where she studied painting at the University of New Mexico from 1946 to 1948. After a few years of teaching, she settled in New Mexico in 1947, dedicating herself to painting and developing an abstract style influenced by Cubism, Surrealism, and Expressionism.
In 1957, Martin returned to New York and found herself among fellow artists such as Robert Indiana, Ellsworth Kelly, Barnett Newman, Robert Rauschenberg, and James Rosenquist. During the late 1950s, her biomorphic works transitioned into geometric abstractions. Her atmospheric compositions consisted of simplified geometric shapes on square canvases, which became a hallmark of her artistic career.
Over the following six years, Martin’s subtle compositions evolved into dynamic monochromes adorned with penciled grids on large square canvases. Despite her artistic success, Martin sought solitude. In 1967, she embarked on a year-and-a-half- long journey across the United States and Canada. After resettling in New Mexico, she focused on writing prose about art and life.
In 1972, Martin returned to painting, featuring a new expression of emotion and perception in her work. Her paintings were characterized by horizontal and vertical lines presented in pastel pinks, blues, and yellows. Over the next three decades, her work placed a strong emphasis on seriality and the use of stripes as the primary compositional structure. The canvas emanated increasing luminosity, achieved by applying diluted acrylic color over multiple layers of white pigment.
In the early 1990s, Martin adapted her standard format to 5-foot square canvases and reintroduced color in her work, with a new spectrum including various shades of green and a vivid orange. In some of her later works, she revisited the geometric elements that had been present in her earlier paintings.
Agnes Martin believed that the minimalist style possessed the remarkable power to evoke profound and uplifting experiences within those who beheld her works. Throughout a span exceeding four decades, Martin created paintings that skillfully navigated the boundaries of structure, space, artistic skill, and the metaphysical realm.
Selected public and private collections:
Centre Pompidou, Paris
The Chase Manhattan Collection, New York
Dia Art Foundation, New York
Fundació La Caixa, Barcelona, Spain
Marieluise Hessel Collection, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Japan
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Switzerland
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California
The Menil Collection, Houston, Texas
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Musée Barbier Mueller, Geneva, Switzerland
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
The Museum of Modern Art, New York
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan
Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Netherlands
Tate Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York -
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