Gan Martin was heir to a tradition of Oregon painting that goes back to the early 20th century. While he certainly was in touch with later trends in art, including modernism’s tendency to explore abstraction, Martin was at heart a figurative artist. His drawings and paintings exemplify the traditions of regionalism: he depicted the natural world and the incidents and objects of daily life.

Martin lived in Coos Bay for more than 40 years, so the coast line of Oregon and its forests and farmland were his territory. He excelled at finding unexpected beauty in familiar, often modest objects—rusted bolts, shotgun shell casings, a pile of logs—but he also made landscape paintings that analyze the architectonic forms of the region’s geology and capture the space and light of the Pacific coastline.

This exhibition includes examples of Martin’s work with ink and colorwash, with pencil and with enamel-based paints. His solid understanding of compositional construction and his fascination with expressive color make his work as vibrant today as it was when he created it.

The Rock Creek gallery is open Monday- Friday 10:00 am-4:00 pm and Saturday 9:00am-6:00pm. The gallery is located in Building 3 of the Rock Creek Campus of Portland Community College at 17705 NW Springville Road, Portland.

For more information contact Prudence Roberts at 503-244-6111 x3434

Prudence Roberts
Director, Helzer Art Gallery