Martha Hughes’ diverse works all feature common elements: a love of color;
obsessive, repetitive processes; and an intention for the works to be personal and
emotionally evocative.
On view at G2 Gallery are works from the artist’s Domicile series, musings on
everyday, prosaic living spaces. Some paintings in this series portray empty rooms
that evoke uneasiness or peaceful solitude, while in others, the placement of
elements such as chairs and tables creates psychodramas of alienation or amiable
togetherness. Other works are simply portraits of companionable household
objects, each with its own personality.
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.
After living many years in Austin and then 20 years in Marfa, Hughes now resides in
Santa Fe, finding inspiration in the ancient city’s culture and natural beauty.