David Martin - The Cusp of Change

a vivid sense of wonder for the point at which tradition intersects with modernity

Article by Celia Sontag | 11 Apr 2007
Featuring oil paintings, pencil drawings and a recreation of the artist's studio environment within the gallery, this show by the 2006 RSA Alastair Salvesen Art Scholarship winner is a powerful sensory experience. The work here documents Martin's five month journey from the Middle East to Europe, via countries including Egypt, Turkey and Serbia, and paints a picture of the transformations these cultures are experiencing during these turbulent times. Martin's attempt to draw a parallel between his own journey and the fabled journeys of the alchemists is somewhat over-ambitious and under-developed. The artist offers us no huge insights, but instead sketches a very intimate, human portrait of day-to-day life in these countries; his jumbled, mixed media paintings creating a vivid sense of wonder for the point at which tradition intersects with modernity. [Celia Sontag]
Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh until 15 April. Free.