The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery is proud to present Sanctuary and the loss of innocence… and since, an exhibition featuring sculptural installation works by Martin Delabano.
The exhibition is on display in the Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery from 7 July, 2023 to 11 August, 2023.
Martin will present an artist talk about his exhibition on Saturday, 22 July, from 2.30pm to 3.00pm in the John H. Milde Gallery.
A reception for the exhibition will be held on Saturday, 5 August, from 3 to 5 pm during the Summer Art Walk at the Goldmark Cultural Center.
About the Exhibition
Martin Delabano sees the world in shapes. Working closely with nature, he pulls forward imagery into form to create for us a new experience, a new journey. The shapes are the matter of his poetry: words that come together visually through the carver’s voice. Sanctuary and the loss of innocence and since is Martin’s story of the last few years: in and beyond isolation, new works created from solitude and a gift of time.
Wood carving needs time. Pulling forms from wood requires patience, the skill of decades and the wisdom of knowing what shape is asking to be found: what story is asking to be told. Found objects play a role, too; offering the natural forms a counterpoint and the viewer a question: why?
Sanctuary and the loss of innocence is the larger work presenting two figures in the garden surrounded by flora and fauna. This three-dimensional painting creates our experience to study this story of connection, seeing through their eyes and glasses, participating in their peaceable kingdom. With wonder as the first of all the passions (Descartes) we begin with wonder. Who are these people? What are the conversations and the spaces between them? And then you might wonder, am I here, too, or am I a spectator? Martin’s work pulls the spectator in and soon: remarkable details of humor and whimsy bring us into this conversation easily and in joy, we belong to this sanctuary for as long as we are willing to be there.
The individual works offer equal allure. Find the unexpected: the work that watches you; the repurposed dowel, a box for your memories. In every work there is a vessel, literally or figuratively for us to place that which we need to place there. Perhaps it is joy, sadness, longing or surprise: whatever emotion, it and you are welcome here. Stay a while.
“I am an image maker, a storytelling figurative artist whose works reflect my quirky take on my inner life and the life that swirls around me.”
— Martin Delabano, 2022
About the Artist
Martin Delabano was born in Dallas, Texas in 1957. His father, Barney Charles Delabano, was the noted Curator of Installation at the Dallas Museum of Art for thirty-three years, in addition to being a gifted painter. Due to Barney’s career, Martin grew up in more a museum than a house, full of paintings, prints, drawings, Pre-Columbian, African, and New Guinea sculptures and baskets, all of which provided a profound influence.
Not only did he grow up around amazing art, through his father, his also met international artists Henry Moore, Louise Nevelson, and Robert Rauschenberg as well as being family friends to important members to the Dallas and Texas art scene, such as Jerry Bywaters, Otis and Velma Dozier, and Octavio Medellin.
In addition to his father, Martin also credits his mother’s father, Harry Lester Taylor as another influence in his work. Harry was also a woodworker, carving bowls and making furniture with tools that Martin continues to use in his own work.
Martin received his undergraduate degree in Sculpture from East Texas University, and his Master of Art from the University of New Mexico. Shortly after, Martin became the shop foreman at the Refinery Casting Company in Dallas, and after 8 years, in 1990, became the fifth through eighth grade art teacher at St. John’s Episcopal School. Martin continues to teach and inspire his young art students to this day.
For more information about the artist, visit www.delabano.com