Artist brings botanical prints to Georgia Southern Statesboro Campus

January 24, 2019

Master printmaker Donald Martin will bring his exhibition, “Sanctuary,” to the Contemporary Gallery at the Center for Art & Theatre on the Georgia Southern Statesboro Campus.

Martin, who has exhibited extensively throughout the country and painted murals for the Barcardi Corporation and the Jacksonville International Airport, depicts botanical forms using close-up views that appear at once highly realistic and detailed, yet also abstract and dynamic. Working with the graphic intensity of relief block printing, “Sanctuary” reveals a view of nature as a complex and tangled mesh of forms, twisting and overlapping as they compete for space and light.

“I particularly enjoy the rituals and craft of printmaking processes, and it is through these processes that much of my imagery evolves,” Martin said in an artist statement. “I seldom start out with a complete image in mind; I start with the fragment of an idea or image and then allow the process to engage in a dialog between the image and the idea.”

He said his personal experience with wildlife influences both the content of his work and the techniques used to create it.

“Donald Martin is a greatly celebrated artist of the southeast,” Gallery Director Jason Hoelscher said. “Given the power of his prints and the wealth of knowledge and ideas he brings, I believe his exhibition and campus visit will have impact on our students.”

The exhibition will be on view at the University Gallery from Feb. 18 through March 14. A reception and an artist talk will be held Feb. 28 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the gallery.

Georgia Southern University, a public Carnegie Doctoral/R2 institution founded in 1906, offers 141 degree programs serving nearly 26,500 students through nine colleges on three campuses in Statesboro, Savannah, Hinesville and online instruction. A leader in higher education in southeast Georgia, the University provides a diverse student population with expert faculty, world-class scholarship and hands-on learning opportunities. Georgia Southern creates lifelong learners who serve as responsible scholars, leaders and stewards in their communities. Visit GeorgiaSouthern.edu.