Poisson et tête de caribou
2008
oil on canvas
150 x 140 cm / 59 x 55 in
Jardin-Mouvance [sold] Le cerisier Danseuse et quadrupèdes Poisson et tête de caribou Marco pêche [sold] L'arbre petit Marcher dans le bois [donated to Unite With Art 2009] L'Éclipse: La Spiral Jetty
Raymond Martin is a child psychologist and self-taught painter. Born in Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, he has lived in Moncton for more than 20 years. His Neo-Folk style arises from the unique cultural history of Folk Art found on Canada’s East Coast.
As an expression of the spontaneous, intuitive child within, Martin’s art may be linked to the history of ‘childlike’ works by 20th century artists like Picasso, Klee and Dubuffet. Within the current Moncton Acadian art scene, his work shares affinities with the ebullient ‘Neo-Folk’ paintings of Yvon Gallant, Nancy Morin and Francis Coutellier. Integrating a deep awareness of the psychological power and magic of children’s drawings, his enchanted visions poetically meld inner consciousness with the real world.
Martin challenges the assumption that we exist as alienated, isolated individuals in a hostile, indifferent environment. His compassionate paintings celebrate our place in the cosmos. For Martin, the way of the world is not based on Darwin’s law of ‘tooth and claw’, but on cooperation in community, on establishing relationships within the single web of life. (excerpts from essay by Terry Graff, 1994)
Martin’s paintings are found in several corporate and public collections including, Canada Art Bank, Foreign Affairs Canada, and the New Brunswick Art Bank; and is found in private collections throughout the world.