About

I’m a painter working primarily with paint on paper and wood, creating art at the intersection of minimalism and expressiveness, where structure and imperfection coexist. My work isn’t concerned with storytelling. Instead, I concentrate on conveying suggestion and essence. My process involves a constant push and pull of addition and removal. I am always exploring what can be taken away to reveal more.

Resonance without representation

From my earliest work on, I steered clear of making representational pictures and visual narratives. The materials I use have weight and substance, so if there is a story, it’s about their interaction and application. That said, I see process as a way to explore the emotive and communicative possibilities that exist within clear boundaries. The more strict the parameters, well, that’s where I find more avenues to explore – and new opportunities to inspire a resonant response from the viewer.

Searching for the true essence

In my early work, I covered canvases with repetitive, ritualized marks then scraped the paint (or wax) away to remove discernible brushstrokes. I was interested in revealing what was behind, beneath, or inside these marks. My current work takes a similar approach to removing evidence of the artist’s hand. I apply paint to blocks, layering paint to imprint rectilinear patterns onto paper. With a manual, non-traditional press, I can control how I apply the paint on the blocks and the amount of pressure on the paper. But the process leaves a great deal to chance. 

While these works on paper have an ethereal, delicate quality, my most recent work on wood panels is inherently more substantive. I work with a variety of woods – hard and soft, fine and coarse grain – and their innate attributes affect the application of medium, contributing another uncontrolled variable to my work. With these works on wood, I also expand my color palette. However, the exploration of freedom within constraints, of abstraction and expression, continues – no matter what materials I choose.


Exhibitions

2025: Energy of Color, Cove Gallery, Gloucester, MA – Group show

2025: Rocky Neck Now 2025, The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, Gloucester, MA – Group show

2024: Elements, The Newburyport Art Association, Newburyport, MA – Group show

2024: eco-harmony, Cove Gallery, Gloucester, MA – Group show

2024: Paintings 2021-2024, CST Gallery, Danvers, MA – Solo show

2023: Abstractions, Lowell, MA – Group show

2023: Ipswich Art Show, Ipswich, MA – Group show

2023: Mad Fish Gallery, Gloucester, MA – Group show

2022: Ipswich Art Show, Ipswich, MA – Group show

2006: Hall Haskell House, Ipswich MA – Solo show

1996: Andrea Marquit Fine Arts, Boston, MA – Summer Group Show

1995: Gallery Naga, Boston, MA – Rotating back room gallery

1995: Landau Gallery, Belmont, MA – Group Show

1993: Somerville Museum, Somerville MA – 2nd Annual Contemporary Art Juried Exhibition

1992: Ministry of Culture, San Jose, Costa Rica – Solo show

1991: Hartnett Gallery, Rochester, NY – 2 person show

1991-1997: Brickbottom Gallery, Somerville, MA – Open Studios Group Show


© 2025 Martin Sorger