Artist’s Statement/ Marty Nash

Involuntary Turning: Recent Work 

In this new collection of drawings and painting, I am interested in the clear evidence of my mark making, while using traditional materials and techniques. I am working primarily on paper left unframed and attached to the wall with simple, but evident means. Through this presentation, I hope to demonstrate something of the ephemeral nature of the creative process. The application of materials is direct and intentionally unlabored, no doubt an intuitive attempt to create a balance with the dense and highly detailed paintings of my previous body of work.

What remain as constants to my process:

I create in the moment of action which brings together selected forms collected from life experiences—chance (fortuitous, random, fated) gathering of information. However, they are consistently reminiscent of the forms ever-present in my memory traces.

The form inspires the expression. The figures do not evolve within one piece, but evolve from one piece to the other. My images create a dream space where forms appear caught in a suspended motion…where flying/floating images travel between the conscious and unconscious—in a state of transformation.  As I am changed by my relationships, the juxtaposition of the forms in relation to other images, within and outside of the individual piece, create new meanings.

Depending on the speed and layering implied in the application of materials, each work reflects a particular sense of time. Meaning is conveyed by the attention given to particulars of line, nuance of color or texture.  This is evident in the subtle variation of black hues, or a searching quality of details in contrast to the conviction of dominat shapes.

Art making taps into the most powerful aspects of being human. It provides the opportunity to connect with others through a feeling of recognition of the other within ourselves, not to be found so readily in the literal.  “He who seeks God under settled forms lays hold of the form while missing the God concealed in it.” (Coomaraswarmy, A.K. (1935) The Transformation of Nature in Art)