Sunday Feature- Martha Jablonski-Jones

A few days ago I asked members of my facebook fan site to post links to their artist websites.  I've decided to do a Sunday Feature every week to promote the creative work of these awesome people!  Stay tuned for more! 

"Hexagram" -Acrylic/canvas 

 I've been familiar with artist Martha Jablonski-Jones for quite some time now, so I was pleased when she shared her artist link on my fan page the other day.  I love her urban landscapes.  She seems to find the special, almost sacred qualities in ordinary scenes, the exotic in the familiar.  Much of her focus is on alleyways, which she transforms into arrangements of glowing abstracted colour.  The above painting- "Hexagram," reminds me of Mark Rothko- glowing squares of sunlit shapes.  Her series, called "CIty" is all focused on alleys. 

"Inner Passage"- Acrylic/Canvas 

"Urban backstreets and alleys, with all their texture, wear and tear, and imprint of human habitation." - Martha Jablonski- Jones

"New Morning Alley"- Acrylic/Canvas

Her scenes do not contain people, but they seem to contain a presence.  As urban landscapes they suggest human habitation, and even the fact that they are vertical landscapes seems to reflect human forms.  These vertical shapes are almost the outline, the absence of people.  Jablonski- Jones writes: 

"My primary artistic focus is on the contemporary urban landscape, in particular, the rich textures of things weathered and worn, run down, imprinted by time and human occupation. Although people may not appear in my paintings, they have clearly inhabited the spaces. I’m also interested in the industrial places we have created around ourselves, their formidable structures designed to serve, yet often seeming to draw us into their own service."

Transparent Radiation- Acrylic/Canvas

Another focus she takes is on power lines and electricity.  Her series called "Electric" is about the force and power behind man made objects.  These power lines and structures become infused with a glowing energy of bright lines and dynamic strokes.  They take on an otherworldly quality, and almost a religious or totem significance in the landscape.  It seems an interesting remark on modern condition, as much of our lives and activities rely on these totems of power.  In her words they express: 

"The balance of power between the man-made and the elemental; living forces of the invisible energies."