DIALECTICAL PRAXIS
Celia Johnson | Donald Martiny
with works by Will Lustenader
Open now through April 29, 2017
Artist Talk is on Saturday, April 29, 2pm
FRED.GIAMPIETRO Gallery, 1064 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06510
From left to right: Kathy & Fred Giampietro, Donald Martiny, and Celia Johnson
Fred Giampietro gallery is pleased to present Dialectical Praxis, an exhibition featuring the work of Celia Johnson and Donald Martiny. Although, Johnson and Martiny approach the process of creation with different points of view, interpretations, and methods, they both seek to establish the truth through reasoned arguments. Each artists share an affinity and uniqueness for the purity and simplicity of color and form.
Donald Martiny has worked persistently on perfecting a unique technique of paint application so that he may, “discard the ground (canvas) and literally allow the brush strokes or gestures themselves to be the painting”. Martiny is very conscious about being present in his work. He sees color as pure energy and feeling, allowing freedom to paint a gesture without any restraints creating a fresh and personal relationship with the viewer.
Donald Martiny studied at the School of the Visual Arts, The Art Students League in New York, New York University and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Museum exhibitions include the FWMoA, Courtauld Institute of Art, Alden B Dow Museum of Art, Falmouth Museum, and the Cameron Art Museum. In 2015 Martiny received a commission from the Durst Organization to create two monumental paintings that are permanently installed in the lobby of One World Trade Center in New York City. In 2015 Martiny received the Sam & Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts Residency Grant and his work has been featured in the Huffington Post, NPR, Philadelphia Inquirer, VOGUE LIVING | Australia, New American Paintings | South and Woven Tale Press. Martiny’s work is represented by galleries in Europe, the US and Australia and is collected internationally.
Celia Johnson is known for her sensitivity to surfaces, color theory and a unique interpretation of geometric abstraction. In her work, she carefully burnishes away marks challenging the viewer to further explore and question her technique. In a recent statement, Johnson notes that she “enjoys persuading liquid paints, inks and hot glowing wax into counter intuitively distinct, bound, or embedded fields of pure saturated color.” Johnson enjoys structuring the figure/ground relationships and the push and pull of compositional elements in space.
Celia received her BFA in design and printmaking at California College of the Arts. She has worked professionally in the design field in San Francisco, New York and Germany for clients including Levis Strauss, ESPRIT, The New York Times and Condé Nast. While in Germany, she studied painting as a visiting student at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf under Prof. Christian Megert during a decade-long stay there. Returning to New York City, Celia pursued her concentration in painting while continuing to work professionally as an internationally recognized and award-winning designer/illustrator. Additionally she served as adjunct faculty at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and holds an MPS graduate degree in new media design from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts ITP program.
Will Lustenader’s new body of work addresses spatial issues as well as the exploration of color and textural relationships. Lustenader’s masterful painterly technique draws a distant dialogue with renaissance through 19th-century painting as well as tipping his hat to the modern masters. Will Lustenader lives and works in New Haven, CT. Lustenader received his MA from the Courtauld Institute of Art at the University of London and his BA from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY. His work has been included in numerous exhibits, including the San Diego Art Institute (2009), the Neuberger Museum (2008), and The New Britain Museum of American Art. His work can be found in many private and public collections.
FRED.GIAMPIETRO Gallery 