Martin Arnold (American/Alabama, b. 1947), "Christina and Kim", oil on masonite, signed en verso, 36 1/4 in. x 48 1/8 in., unframed . Provenance: Collection of Ti-Rock Moore, New Orleans. Exh.: "Martin Arnold: Empathetic Resonance", Cullis Wade Depot Art Gallery, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, 2015. Note: Born in Michigan, Martin Arnold worked as an automation machinery designer for the automotive industry for thirty-seven years before leaving the business and going south to Mississippi to seek a degree in the arts in 2006. While his subjects are primarily figurative, Arnold’s engineering background makes itself known through his meticulously rendered works and his almost photorealistic attention to detail. Arnold places his subjects within a sparse setting with little or no background, forcing the viewer to focus on the models, who often stare directly at the viewer. When speaking of his art, Arnold notes: “I offer viewers an opportunity to speculate on my subject’s mind-set and demeanor as they probe the commonality and simultaneous, utter uniqueness of each of my models. As a figurative artist, my goal is to produce artwork that assumes the role of a psychological mirror, wherein viewers may recognize and examine aspects of their own psyche in its inescapable, unrelenting reflection."
Ref.: Arnold, Martin. “International Painting Annual 5 Exhibition Artists Statement.” Manifest Gallery. Spring 2016. www.manifestgallery.org. Accessed May 14, 2019.