French artist Nicolas Martin, who lives and works in Montreal, Canada, will be having his first solo exhibition in the United States this November. His show, Intimacy, is being held at Principle Gallery in Charleston, South Carolina, and features more than 30 of the artist’s shadowy and moody pieces.
Blue door in Montreal, oil on panel, 12 x 16"“Nicolas Martin embraces the beauty and stillness of liminal space that is very familiar to each of our minds. His paintings draw the viewer in and give you a sense of nostalgia. They evoke a warm and comforting feeling of both past and present,” says Principle Gallery director Frank Conrad Russen.
The Majestic, oil on linen, 24 x 18"“I think it’s the word that best represents my work and the way I paint,” Martin says of the exhibition’s title, Intimacy. “For me, intimacy has long been represented by a woman getting out of her bath and painted by Edgar Degas, but I think there can be intimacy at any time and in many circumstances. Intimacy is a privileged moment. It may be an isolated moment in a scene that does not feel intimate or a lonely interior where I invite the viewer to be part of it.”
Tables Honfleuraises, oil on panel, 9 x 12"
His oil paintings feature a variety of scenes, with and without figures, all of them capturing some quiet moment that encourages viewers to reflect inward. These scenes—a deserted alleyway, unoccupied tables at a cafe, a mysterious blue door—can speak to just about anyone, and yet they are deeply personal. Martin adds that he doesn’t feel he necessarily needs to include figures in his paintings of interiors, and that light is a figure in and of itself. “It is a character and probably my main character,” he says.
La Rue Haute, oil on panel, 24 x 18"
The artist is influenced by both European and North American arts, and works in the alla prima method as much as possible. “It has become an important element of my painting, and it allows me to feel more free. Painting alla prima is painting without security. I think it is pure. I don’t want to correct any mistakes the next day. I have flaws; I want my painting to have them too. I am not looking at all for an ideal of beauty. I like to trust the spontaneity of the moment, to know that each brushstroke is important.”
Intimacy opens November 4 with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. and remains on view through November 30. —
Principle Gallery 125 Meeting Street • Charleston, SC 29401 • (843) 727-4500 • www.principlegallery.com
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