Rockland ME, July 14, 2008 – Project Puffin Visitor
Center opens a show of original watercolors of Maine Seabirds by Swedish
artist Karl Mårtens. The show features 20 paintings of puffins, terns,
gulls and other seabirds that nest on Audubon sanctuaries in Maine.
Mårtens paints in a distinctive style, using his Zen training to produce
brushstroke images of the birds.
This show is Mårtens’ first exhibit in the United States. Mårtens,
a Stockholm resident, will visit Rockland from July 22-24 to speak
at both the Puffin Project Visitor Center (5PM on July 23) and the
Farnsworth Museum (see below). Because so many of Maine’s seabirds
can also be found on Sweden’s coasts, says Mårtens, “Painting Maine’s
seabirds was very familiar and something that came naturally.” Like
the works of John James Audubon, the namesake of the Audubon Society, Mårtens’
birds bring creative expression to seabirds, in a manner beyond the narrow category
of bird illustrations.
Susan Schubel, art director for Project Puffin Visitor Center, worked
with Mårtens to bring the show to Rockland. She said: “Karl’s style
evokes the spirit of these seabirds amazingly well, since many of the
birds that nest on the Audubon Islands, such as puffins, are black
and white, with small but intense areas of bright color, which is very
Zen.”
Project Puffin director Stephen Kress was struck by how Mårtens work
“invites the viewer to participate by filling in the blank spaces in
the paintings with their own experiences. Mårtens work will be of great
interest to people who appreciate birds as well as art.” Kress founded
Project Puffin in 1973 by bringing Newfoundland puffins to Eastern
Egg Rock in Muscongus Bay. Today the island is home to a thriving colony
of puffins, and one of 13 islands that Kress and his team manage.
The Farnsworth Museum, which is located across the street from the
Project Puffin Visitor Center, is hosting a field trip to Eastern Egg
Rock and a presentation by Mårtens (July 24 (11AM-5PM), who will demonstrate
the fundamentals of “Sho do” (character calligraphy) and “Zen Energy
Painting” (non-figurative, emotional calligraphic painting) http://www.farnsworthmuseum.org/education. Lora
Urbanelli, Farnsworth’s director, notes: “Martens' ethereal washes
are so elegant. With
seemingly little effort they convey a direct connection to the birds'
energy and spirit.”
The paintings in the show and low edition numbers from limited edition
lithographs of a puffin and razorbill will be auctioned on July 25th. Bids
for the originals can be placed prior to the auction at Project Puffin
Visitor Center, 311 Maine Street, Rockland. Limited edition lithographs
of Mårtens are also available at the Center. Project Puffin Visitor
Center is open daily June 1 to October 31 from 10AM to 5PM and on Wednesdays
until 7PM. The Center (www.projectpuffin.org) is a joint endeavor of
the National and Maine Audubon Societies. Several of Mårtens paintings
and lithographs are also on exhibit at the Firehouse Gallery in Damariscotta.
For a preview of the art in the show, visit: http://www.formifunktion.com/Project_Puffin_2008/index_2.htm
