'Poises' a Solo Exhibition by Donald Martiny

Poiesis

Donald Martiny
January 11 – February 15, 2025

Opening Reception: Saturday January 11th from 5 - 7pm

Galleri Urbane is pleased to present Poiesis, a solo exhibition of new work by Donald Martiny. Poiesis, a term of Ancient Greek origin, refers to the process of creation or the bringing of something into existence. It can also refer to the transformative power of human imagination and innovation.

In this first show of 2025, Donald Martiny presents a sequence of paintings informed by particular works of art history that have personally inspired and moved him—specifically Titian’s seminal “Poesie” series. The cycle of six, grand scale paintings, were commissioned by King Philip II of Spain in the mid-1500s, the era of Titian’s most eloquent expression.

Martiny’s affection and affinity with Titian is rooted in the master’s unique ability to capture dynamic movement in his works through his use of loose brushstrokes and expressive application of paint, notably using his bare fingers to apply and blend his paint. “I prefer to paint with my hands because I want the works to embody and exude the quality of being human, of the human directly in the work," says Martiny.

An additional formal component found in Titian’s Poesie narratives, the banderole, is used as contemporary consideration by Martiny, the echoed forms in stasis, emerging on the studio floor under his paint laden hands. Martiny’s shaped substrates recall the banderole object’s frozen- in-action coiled energy. “I value the idea that the works are highly personal mark-making, such as handprints on the wall of a cave, tracks in the snow, or warm breath tracing in cold air,”says Martiny.

Artists have been exploring beyond the rectangle in the making of shaped paintings throughout the history of art, ranging from Cimabue to Frank Stella. Most typically in this endeavor, artists have built a substrate structure first and then responded by painting it. Martiny flipped the model: “I went a different way. I wanted the act of painting itself to determine the form of the paintings. After much experimentation, I began to paint freely on generous expanses of aluminum. I initially experimented with application tools, then was drawn closer, ultimately painting with my hands. Then I simply cut away the negative areas," says Martiny. "The form follows the painting, rather than the painting following the form.”