Robert Martin: Northwoods Incantation

In Northwoods Incantation, Robert Martin presents a series of new paintings evoking the thick humidity and dripping sentimentality of an upper-Midwest upbringing. Iconic birds of the Midwest such as loons, snowy owls, and red-tailed hawks are portrayed as sigils or charms bathed in glowing light, deifying the relationship between the artist and the species they share their environment with. The artist’s upbringing in the Catholic Church, with its rich aesthetics of art and architecture, continues to inform their depictions of the natural world through the lens of spiritual experience. This exhibition meditates on the power of storytelling—whether through family traditions, religious iconography, or the human tendency to mythologize what we don’t fully understand.