Strength In Structures
Carolyn Martin

GALLERY I

January 6 – February 4, 2024

Opening reception: Saturday, January 6, 2024, from 6–8pm

A.I.R. Gallery is pleased to announce Strength In Structures, an exhibition of new drawings and three-dimensional explorations by New York Member Carolyn Martin.

In her last show at A.I.R., Between the Lines (2019), an exhibition of charcoal and conte crayon drawings, Martin crisscrossed lines varying from dense and dark to faint and wispy, each one telling its own life story as it intertwined with others. In this exhibition, she again creates spatial depth via layerings of lines and gradations of tones, but now there’s a demanding urgency in the force of her stroke.

Going beyond illusion, she accompanies her drawings with heavy wire “sketches.” Their forms, like the drawings, arch defensibly and brandish barbs. Bold assertiveness emanates from these works not only from the wall but into the actual space we inhabit. Martin’s visionary approach extends beyond the present forms, as she envisions the potential physical evolution of her art. This foresight is evidenced by her inclusion of diagrams for large scale installations.

Carolyn Martin has exhibited in solo shows in New York City since 1989. She has also exhibited at the J.B. Speed Art Museum in Louisville Kentucky; the African American Museum in Dallas, Texas; Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia; ACA Galleries in New York; the Muscarelle Museum at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia; the 2B Gallery in Budapest, Hungary; the Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts in Racine, Wisconsin; and the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, among others. Martin holds a B.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin, attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and earned her M.F.A. from Pratt Institute in New York. She has taught at the University of Pennsylvania and City College in New York City.

View the Press Release here.

View Carolyn Martin’s page here.

Photography: Matthew Sherman