Mangazaou IX, 2023

The recent works on paper by Jason Martin are created with dyes. Unlike the color pigments used in oil or acrylic paints, these dyes react to moisture, light, and heat in complex ways. Accordingly, the painterly results generated via the artist’s process are at times unpredictable, allowing for a compelling interplay between control and chance.
 
The works were realized during extended travels; they are painterly travelogues, created in the mangrove swamps of Bahia, Brazil, among other places. Since the dyes interact with the elements—scorching heat and tropical humidity—the works are responsive to all climatic variables. Thus, for the painter, nature functions as both sparring partner and collaborator.

The technique developed for these vibrantly colorful works on paper allows the artist to capture the contemporary sublime of an increasingly fragile nature. These lushly sensuous works are snapshots of an encounter with nature and demonstrate the threat it faces.