here we go 2026! we are pleased to start off our 28th year with solo exhibitions for painters francis livingston and donald martiny. both artist’s technique focuses on the brushstroke. francis livingston’s creates his oil paintings from layers and layers of overlapping marks somehow coming together to form an extremely realist portrayal of his subject matter. livingston paints buildings mostly in lower manhattan with their mesmerising patchwork of soho stairs. the light he captures within the complexity of the architecture is extraordinary. his background in illustration combined with his years of teaching at the san francisco academy of art are on full display in the depth of his paintings. donald martiny’s polymer and pigment on aluminium wall sculptures focus on the importance of a singular brushstroke. his work captures all the movement and physical presence used to create art. martiny challenges the boundaries of painting by creating his own canvases through their unique shapes but also formulating materials to make his vision. these two incredible shows celebrate the power of painting through the brushstroke big and small.
francis livingston studied at the rocky mountain school of art in denver before moving to san francisco in 1975 to attend the academy of art. he later taught there for 10 years. influenced by sargent and whistler, livingston painted primarily in a monochromatic style until he began to study the work of the bay area figurative movement, including richard diebenkorn, wayne thiebaud and others. with a love for nostalgia, he paints places which may no longer exist or that have lost their luster. his bold and impressionistic paintings take the viewer back in time to the day when amusement parks with wooden roller coasters, movie theatres with neon signs and buildings with ornate embellishments were in their prime. francis livingston is known for his thickly applied brush strokes that emphasize shape rather than line, creating an abstract approach to realism. his scenes of yesteryear have exciting movement, color, texture and balance.
Donald martiny
painting as a verb
donald martiny was born in schenectady, ny in 1953 and currently lives and works in connecticut. he studied at the school of the visual arts, the art students league in new york, new york university and the pennsylvania academy of fine arts. museum exhibitions include the fwmoa, courtauld institute of art, alden b dow museum of art, falmouth museum, and the cameron art museum. donald’s work is in the permanent collections of the crocker art museum in sacramento, ca; the newcomb art museum at tulane university in new orleans, la; the fwmoa, fort wayne, in and the lamborghini museum in bologna, italy.
martiny’s water-based polymer and pigment on aluminium paintings are made on the floor using mostly his own hands to manipulate the paint to capture the essence of a brushstroke. he is considered a action painter; one who physically acts out their emotions through paint. mounting the works on aluminium suspending off the wall results in a sculptural relief. martiny’s subject matter is the importance of the singular brushstroke. how it effects the viewer and space through movement, color and projection.
“when i started out as an artist everyone was saying painting is dead. i feel strongly now as i did then, that painting has much to offer and is evolving in exciting and astonishing ways. one notable evolution is with the paint i use. some of the ingredients in my paint didn’t exist thirty years ago but allow me to do things with paint that even the abstract expressionists could never dream of. additionally, new colors are being developed, that don’t have clear meanings. it is amazing that there are new colors in the world and artists can be the ones to define them.
another somewhat recent innovation in painting is how they are structured. a composed painting is treated as a whole, with borders that separate it from the world and parts that relate to each other internally. i went a different way. i want the borders of my paintings to imply extension. i paint thinking of the space around it, and the viewer as part of the work.
i try to involve a viewer by breaking out of the boundaries of the painting, out of the frame, invading the room, going sideways, being active. i want the effects to work psychologically as well as spatially, so that emotions are activated. ”
all available work by each artist can be viewed on our website under their individual tabs including sizing + pricing. hidell brooks gallery is by appointment. please call the gallery if you have any further questions.