WILSON, N.C. — October 1, 2018 — Nature lovers and landscape enthusiasts are in for a treat at the Barton Art Galleries this October. Barton College celebrates new Artist-in-Residence Donald Martin with a series of public events featuring the artist/printmaker. His new exhibition, “Sanctuary,” opens at the Barton Art Galleries on Thursday, Oct. 11, and runs through Friday, Nov 16.
On Thursday, Oct. 11, the Barton College Friends of Visual Arts will host its annual FOVA Fall Lecture and Dinner. A wine and cheese reception with the artist will begin in the galleries at 5 p.m., followed by Martin’s lecture at 6 p.m. The reception and lecture are open to the public at no charge, and the community is invited to attend.
Later on Thursday evening, following the lecture, guests will be invited to Kennedy Family Theatre for dinner at 7 p.m. Advance reservations are required. Tickets for the event are $35 per person, and reservations and payments must be received by Friday, October 6. FOVA members may reserve tickets for $25 per person. For more information about these events reservations, please contact Maureen O’Neill, director of exhibitions and educational programming, Barton Art Galleries, at [email protected] or 252-399-6476.
About the Artist-in-Residence —
Donald Martin is an artist/printmaker from Saint Augustine, Fla. During the last several years, he has worked, almost exclusively, in Relief and Monoprint printmaking with occasional detours into sculpture and book arts. It is the workman-like process and craft of printmaking, the pressure of ink on paper, that has been of enduring interest to him as an artist. During his long career he has also been deeply involved with mural design and illustration.
The flora and fauna of his home are his primary subjects. Don lives in an area of the country that is particularly consumed by over development and destruction of the natural environment therefore which has made the fragile natural environment particularly relevant to him and his work. His art work is a celebration of an environment that is not grand or picturesque but an environment that is intimate and fragile.
Don is professor emeritus in the Department of Art and Design at Flagler College in St. Augustine, where he taught courses in printmaking, design, and drawing for 40 years.
“My work is devoted toward the natural world and the representation of various animal and plant forms are abundant in my work,” shared Martin. “Personal experience with nature informs my use of line, texture, and color, but it also informs the content of my work. My experience with nature represents my link between the everyday and the eternal. I often present a view of the natural world that is intimate, with a close- up view of plants forms that present to the viewer a world that is, at once, abstract and recognizable.
“I have been inspired for years by the clarity and integrity of botanical and biological illustrations of the 18th and 19th century, but, in my work, I have evolved away from the idealism and isolation of these illustrations, Martin continued. “The images of nature in my work represent a complex and tangled world, where plant forms are often engaged in a competition for space and light, which is, to me, an appropriate metaphor for the present state of the natural world. The use of printmaking has been the primary focus of my creative output in recent years. I particularly enjoy the rituals and craft of printmaking processes, and it is through these processes that much of my imagery evolves.”
Martin received his Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Florida State University. He has also studied at Penland School of Crafts and the Rhode Island School of Design. He has exhibited extensively throughout the country and has painted murals for the Barcardi Corporation and the Jacksonville International Airport in Jacksonville, Fla. He currently makes his home in St. Augustine, Fla.
Additional Programming in October Offered by the Artist-in-Residence —
October 13 and 20 — The Saturday printmaking workshops will be offered for FOVA members as well as members of the community: $20.00 FOVA members, $40.00 nonmembers. No prior art experience is necessary to participate.
For more information and to register for a workshop, please contact Maureen O’Neill, director of exhibitions and educational programming at the Barton Art Galleries at(252) 399-6477 or [email protected].
Saturday, October 13, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. (with a break for lunch) — Monoprint Workshop
This printmaking process is very painterly and immediate – a perfect introduction to printmaking for beginners. Supplies will be provided. No prior experience is required. Space is limited, please call and make a reservation.
Saturday, October 20, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. (with a break for lunch) — Relief Workshop
Participants will be introduced to the process of relief printmaking. No prior experience is required. Supplies will be provided. Space is limited, please call and make a reservation. Please bring a lunch.
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