Agnes Martin; Abstract painter
Hyfler/Rosner
http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_work_md_103_1.htmlhttp://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pinfo?Object=55750+0+nonehttp://www.diabeacon.org/exhibs_b/martin/index.htmlhttp://home.sprynet.com/~mindweb/agnes2.htmAbstract painter Agnes Martin dies at 92By MATT MYGATTThe Associated Press12/16/2004, 4:17 p.m. CTALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Agnes Martin, one of the world'sforemost abstract artists, whose spare paintings reflectedthe simple life she sought, died Thursday. She was 92.Martin died at 6 a.m. at the Plaza de Retiro, a retirementcommunity in Taos, N.M., said William Himes, the community'sowner and administrator. Martin had lived a simple life inthe artists' haven in northern New Mexico since 1991, evenas her art grew in popularity in major cities throughout theworld.She was one of America's most distinguished artists with an"amazing ability to reduce to essence all that we feel aboutspace and light," said Elizabeth Broun, director of theSmithsonian's American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. "Shestands for an awful lot in the story of contemporary artover the past 50 years."Martin's abstracts have been included in collections at theMuseum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art,the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, all in New York, and theTate Gallery in London. In 1998, she won the NationalEndowment for the Arts' prestigious National Medal of Art."She was one of America's most significant and best-knownartists, certainly one of the most innovative and originalartists of the 20th century," said David L. Witt, curator atthe University of New Mexico's Harwood Museum of Art inTaos."She was a painter. A lot of the work was in acrylic. She isknown for her minimal - not minimalistic - style ofpainting. Minimalist has to do with artists who leave littletrace of their own personality in the work. But Agnes cameout of abstract expressionism."Martin's abstract expressionism evolved during the 1950s, hesaid. "By the end of the 1950s, she started developing whatwas recognizably her work, which was this minimal kind ofthing having to do with the grid. But there were other kindsof lines as well. Some of them were stripes," Witt said.The minimal style often is interpreted as cold andmechanical, but Martin's paintings were just the opposite -beautiful, sensuous, serene, contemplative, said JohnElderfield, chief curator of painting and sculpture at theMuseum of Modern Art, which has 14 of Martin's paintings."I think of her as the Mystic of Minimalists," he said."I think one of the characteristics of a lot of reallyimportant paintings - whether figurative or abstract - isthe way in which they engage you and you start to look atthem and they seem to change."In a 1997 interview with The Associated Press, Martin saidshe wanted her paintings to evoke a purely emotionalresponse."There's nothing in the paintings to remind you of anythingin the world," she said. "I think we have lots of emotionsthat aren't caused, like when you wake up and you're justhappy."Her quiet life in northern New Mexico allowed her to achievethe abstractness she desired in her work."I often paint tranquility. If you stop thinking and rest,then a little happiness comes into your mind. At perfectrest you are comfortable," she said.Born in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in 1912,Martin moved to the United States in 1931. She spent periodsin New Mexico, New York and Oregon teaching or studying. Shereturned to Taos in June 1952 where she remained for fiveyears before moving to New York to show at the Betty ParsonsGallery. In the late 1960s, she spent time traveling aroundthe West and Canada in a pickup truck with a camper.For a couple of decades, she divided her time between NewYork and New Mexico, including time in Galisteo, N.M.Martin said in her AP interview that she didn't own anythingshe considered a personal possession and that she hadn'tread a newspaper in more than 50 years because they clutterthe mind."I recommend that students I speak to have nonpoliticalinvolvement because when you are waiting for inspiration,you have to have your mind clear," she said.Martin never married and had no children. Himes said therewill be no funeral services.
Hyfler/Rosner
Agnes Martin, one of the world's foremost abstract artists
whose spare paintings reflected the simple life she sought,
died Thursday. She was 92.
Martin died at 6 a.m. at the Plaza de Retiro, a retirement
community in Taos, N.M., said William Himes, the community's
owner and administrator.
Martin had lived a simple life in the artists' haven in
northern New Mexico since 1991, even as her art grew in
popularity in major cities around the globe.
She was one of the most distinguished artists in the
Minimalist movement with an "amazing ability to reduce to
essence all that we feel about space and light," said
Elizabeth Broun, director of the Smithsonian's American Art
Museum in Washington, D.C.
"She stands for an awful lot in the story of contemporary
art over the past 50 years," Braun said.
Martin's abstract works have been included in the
collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum
of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, all in
New York; and the Tate Gallery in London. In 1998, she won
the National Endowment for the Arts' prestigious National
Medal of Art.
In a 1997 interview with The Associated Press, Martin said
she wanted her paintings to evoke a purely emotional
response.
"There's nothing in the paintings to remind you of anything
in the world," she said. "I think we have lots of emotions
that aren't caused, like when you wake up and you're just
happy."
Her quiet life in northern New Mexico allowed her to achieve
the abstractness she desired in her work.
"I often paint tranquility. If you stop thinking and rest,
then a little happiness comes into your mind. At perfect
rest you are comfortable," she said.
Born in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in 1912,
Martin moved to the United States in 1931. She spent periods
in New Mexico, New York and Oregon teaching or studying.
Martin returned to Taos in June 1952 where she remained for
five years before moving to New York to show at the Betty
Parsons Gallery. In the late 60s, she spent time traveling
around the West and Canada in a pickup truck with a camper.
For a couple of decades, she divided her time between New
York and New Mexico, including time in Galisteo, N.M.
Martin said in her 1997 interview that didn't own anything