GREEN ON RED GALLERY

Fergus Martin solo print show

Fergus Martin’s prints are an exploration of objects floating in space.   

The tension between shapes and depth of colour produces a hypnotic, timeless quality. 

Fergus Martin makes use of the urban world around him as a source. His work reflects the everyday, seen fleetingly and sometimes recorded. 
The geometric forms that consistently appear in his work give shape to his preoccupation with space, form and materials with a radical clarity. Recent projects have been more environmental. His sculptures and paintings are a journey towards a moment of recognition which Martin understands as a meeting of form and energy.  He speaks of density, weight, compression and release. The placing of the works in relation to one another and their relation to their architectural surroundings is a conversation about distance and nearness, centre and periphery. Ideally, it is an ongoing, endless journey.

" With no need to project concrete meanings, his art is like a sponge and a mirror.  It soaks up what is in the air and reflects it back. "  

-Gerry McCarthy in The Sunday Times, 2008, on Fergus Martin, Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane

“…The show consists of a series of minimalist prints that induce a complex response through their very simplicity.
Pared back to basics, the works comprise simple geometric shapes - circles, ovals and the rectangles of paper/frame - in black and white. The stark simplicity is combined with superb technique. The black in these prints is incredible: deep, dark and dense. In contrast, the white of the paper is almost blinding. Edges are razor-sharp and the shapes appear as perfect geometry.
The result is incredibly powerful. There are the visible tensions within the image but they also extend outwards into the surrounding space, affecting the relationship between art work, gallery and viewer. The contrasts within and without the work hint at dialogue and meaning. It is meditative work, to be savoured slowly, considered and reconsidered.
Absolutely, not to be missed…”  

-Martin Shiels