paintings from december 2007.
often times you come across an artist and all you are able to see is their work. which is awesome, i'm not complaining. but sometimes, you stumble upon an artist and not only does their work shine through but so does their personality. martha rich is that kind of artist. when you visit her websites or blog you can feel her wonderful sense of humor, wit and convictions. take her introduction on her freedom wig site:
welcome to freedomwig, my one-painting-a-day website. freedomwig is the name of a real wig. i named the site after a wig because wigs can either make you feel like someone else or make you feel normal. the art on this site is like that. not everyone will get me. if you do, that is excellent, you are the coolest, if not there's nothing i can do for ya. you'll probably just have to get your art from walmart.
well, i get you martha. i hear you barkin' big dog. i feel you, i do. when looking at martha's work you can sense an honest to goodness realness that comes over loud and clear, not shouty like, just vivid and understood. it's this sort of honesty and dead pan humor that makes martha's work so rad.
paintings from september 2007.
in november of 2006, martha started making a painting a day. you can visit her freedom wig website where each painting is on display (and available for purchase, although much has sold, duh.). martha's use of color is unabashed and her subjects vary from diamonds to televisions to ladies in bikinis. i love what she writes under each painting. i think my favorite is floaty man heads. not to mention she refrences thomas kinkade and getting waxed under one explanation of a painting, which i personally feel is ironic genius on her part.
paintings from july 2007.
it's amazing to scroll through each painting knowing she did one each and every day for a yr. her plan was to stop in october of this yr, to complete the yr long project however plans have changed. yay! she has extended it to coincide w/ her new show at la luz de jesus gallery in la; imitation snakeskin superstore.
paintings from april 2007.
in imitation snakeskin superstore martha examines what it is like to be a female w/ out a maternal role model (martha's mom died when she was a teenager from cancer.), exploring issues of identity, femininity and just being real. the show opens the 4th of january.
oh, and if you need some more of martha for your very own, pick up her book freedom wigs. i think it's still available from murphy design.
paintings from december 2006.
