Martha Hughes – Bio

Martha Hughes’ diverse series of works all feature common elements: a love of color; obsessive, repetitive processes; and an intention for the works to be personal and evocative on an emotional level.

Works in her current series of abstract paintings are immersive experiences in pure color. Each large, dynamic shape on these canvases is composed of thousands of obsessively applied small brushstrokes that give the works a hand-made quality, evoking patience and unhurried attention.

Another series of paintings, Garden, reflects her love of the natural world: “Even the humblest garden is a miracle of color, line, shape, and movement.”

Hughes began painting and exhibiting her artwork in her early teens, inspired by the wide-open landscape of the high plains of the Texas Panhandle and the mountains of Northern New Mexico. She attended Arizona State University on an art scholarship and ultimately earned a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Texas at Austin, with additional post-graduate studies there and at the University of North Texas.

Hughes’ work is included in numerous corporate and private collections, including Santa Fe’s former Lannan Foundation.

After many years living in Marfa, Texas, where she worked in her studio across the street from Chinati and Judd Foundation spaces, Hughes now resides in Santa Fe, where she continues to be inspired by the ancient city’s culture and natural beauty.

Martha Hughes

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