Martha Eleen Exhibition May 2018

Martha Eleen – “Before Tomorrow” 

An exhibition of paintings.

May 3 - 26, 2018

Opening Reception: Friday, May 4 at 7:30 pm

Sponsors: Ingrid and Hugh Monteith, and the Art Gallery of Bancroft

About the Artist

Martha Eleen is interested in the relationship between culture and landscape. Her most recent series, Watershed, 2017, is a requiem for her son, Gabe West. Her paintings have received critical attention in the form of curatorial essays, reviews and publications, and have been exhibited in public galleries in Canada, U.S.A, Mexico and Japan. Eleen’s work is represented in permanent collections including the Art Gallery of Ontario. She is an honours graduate of Emily Carr College of Art, Vancouver. Eleen lives in Toronto where she teaches painting and drawing at Toronto School of Art and is represented by Loop Gallery.

About the Exhibition

The works that comprise Before Tomorrow are selected to show the progression from representation to abstraction. My work is concerned with human geography and the way that social and political activity affect the landscape. In order to paint reality, one must explore the underlying abstract structures that support the visible surfaces of a place. These investigations have led to an interest in space itself and I have recently challenged myself to try to paint without place. Because this is probably impossible, the place that my space occupies represents an internal landscape.

My work is rooted in my lived life and the title for this exhibition refers to the mapping of a period of time, before, during and after the death of my son. 

Artist Statement

I am interested in Human Geography: the way people affect the landscape and the way this interaction determines how society functions. My observational practice has been less concerned with accumulating technical skills and more with increasing my ability to be present. I have found adventure by paying attention in ordinary and overlooked places, and revealing the underlying social and political context that is hidden in plain view.

My career was developed by looking purposefully outward, believing that the less personal the subject matter, the more seriously my work would be taken.

Working with a much closer horizon, I became interested in the variety of ways that space can be penetrated. Although the work is representational, it is the abstract issues that are important: the significance of the relationship between objects and people that creates a place within the space, separate from the superficial or impersonal meaning of the objects.