Martin Cary Horowitz - Master Gilder and Fine Artist
Santa Fe artist Martin Horowitz uses gold, the Earth’s
most precious metal, as his medium and also the palette for his stunning relief
sculpture and gold “paintings”. Traditionally trained in the Renaissance water
gilding process, Horowitz has translated this age old artistic medium into the
contemporary minimalist language of form, creating beautiful golden wall pieces
vibrant with their own internal energy, that subtly reflect external movement
and color.
As one of America’s most renowned gilders, Horowitz’s
credentials and experience as master gilder and artist are as impeccable as they
are diverse. In addition to creating his artwork for over thirty years, Horowitz
has lectured and taught in his field, worked as a master framemaker for some of
the world’s most well-respected institutions, participated in the creation and
installation of monumental outdoor gilded sculpture and applied his vast
knowledge of gilding to enhancing ornamental architectural structures. He has
introduced numerous technical innovations in gilding, incorporating new methods
and materials into this ancient artistic tradition.
“All gilding has to do with the surface beneath”, says
Horowitz. The gilder traditionally uses clay, gesso, fine woods, and dyes to
color the clay, all bound by rabbit skin glue to prepare a surface to accept the
gold leaf, which is only 1/250,000” thick. “The medium for oil painters is
pigment bound by polymer. For me, it’s clay, gesso and wood bound by rabbit skin
glue. The different karats of gold leaf, 22, 18, 16, 12, and the obscure
amalgamations such as moon gold constitute my palette.” Horowitz has also
discovered new technologies whereby he can water gild on copper, galvanized and
rolled steel, brass and polystyrene. In this way Horowitz has brought the 500
year old European tradition of water gilding into the modern technological age.
Horowitz, who attended New York’s School of the Visual
Arts in the early seventies, was profoundly influenced by the Minimalist
movement then prominent, and his art pays homage to Mark Rothko and Donald Judd
with its visual simplicity and serene power. His new works, such as “Galisteo
Landscape”, demonstrate that his six years living in New Mexico have transformed
his artistic vision and added a softer element to the work. These new pieces are
evocative of the wide open spaces and stark beauty of the Southwestern desert
landscape, though not literal representations. They capture the feeling of the
land that draws people here, for introspection and the natural spectacle.
His untitled relief sculpture seems to float on the wall
and the initial metallic severity of the gold leaf surface for the viewer is
quickly dissolved when the viewer moves. One becomes aware of the forms only
from slightly different viewing angles, and one experiences the pieces
differently, due to the reflection of light from the gold itself and the
surface’s incidental absorption of color. Ultimately, the perception of
Horowitz’s work evolves into a visual dance of light highlighted by the rich
gold field and the artist’s intention and attention to presentation.