Agnes Martin at Tate Modern on The Art Channel

The Art Channel explores the Agnes Martin exhibition at Tate Modern and analyses several major works. Martin was a painter who retreated from New York City to a solitary life in New Mexico in the 1970s, where she acquired a mythic status. But what do her abstract paintings communicate and how might we understand them? Grace Adam and Joshua White lead you through this significant exhibition. The exhibition is jointly organised by the LA County Museum of Art, The Solomon Guggenheim Museum, New York and Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Germany.
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The Art Channel films and reviews exhibitions of Contemporary Art. We aim to make art and exhibitions accessible for everyone.

Grace Adam is an artist and educator. Joshua White is a lecturer and writer. Between us, we work for the Tate Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery, The Royal Academy, The University of the Arts, Flash Art, Christie's Education and Sotheby's Institute.

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[driesketels]

This is why I love our century so much. Great art channels talking about master artists in high quality video format, delivered to your doorstep for free on YouTube.

[irenahalder]

Ms Martin's art is cool, calm, serene and impeccably produced. It has a refined, simple beauty rarely seen elsewhere.

[allisfaith]

As Agnes‘s work is not cerebral it’s esoteric. It’s difficult to look at the painting and describe it because the energy is in the paint it’s self. her paintings are beyond this world. Her brushstrokes, her technique, her genius is seen in the brush strokes but felt through energy. She has to be my favorite artist. Like a pure artist who meditates and then paints, meditates, waits for an impulse, and then paints - truly an inspiration. Her work is the only art thatHas touched me in this way. It’s almost as though you need to be a psychic in order to understand it because it’s so Much more than art. I am a huge fan and I’m so grateful an artist of this caliber is recognized in the art world even if the energy signature is completely missed some of the time.

[claireplauche]

GENIUS..I CRIED WHEN I SAW "FRIENDSHIP" .. the PERFECT embodiment of concept!

[itsyaboypedro]

Earlier this year I had the privilege of standing in front of "Friendship", at the MoMA. I was there with my partners and a friend, exploring the maze-like structure of the third floor of the museum. Right when we were turning a corner, I was pointed to the room where the painting was and I couldn't help but to loudly gasp and cover my face with my hands, feeling almost not worthy of that experience just yet. Agnes Martin is one of my all-time favorite painters and being able to finally see one of her works in real life was absolutely mindblowing, and the fact that it was such a simple, noble piece dedicated to the most beautiful thing in the world, really meant everything to me.
The four of us stood in front of it, we hugged, we kissed, we cried (or at least I did) and we allowed the golden glow to radiate into us, filling us up with the beauty of our own friendship.

People often say Rothko's works get an immediate response out of people, and I really like his paintings as well, but in my opinion Martin achieves this much better. Standing in front of one of her pieces fills you up with such simple feelings that are hard, if not impossible to portray through conventional means. You feel innocence, you feel friendship, you feel beauty, you feel the purest forms of every single human emotion. There really is nothing quite like her body of work.

[miriamcjackson]

I have been searching for something and this is it. It is the challenge of a rigorous form through the hands and the life of a devout artist. Deeply soothing.

[christawalck]

I saw Martin's retrospective at the Guggenheim and it was mind-blowing.  I am sad that so many commenters can't appreciate her challenging art.

[tommybarry]

This actually looks like the composition of a blood stream. Amazing what the mind can see beyond vision as we know it.
I, myself, feel a continuous need to draw and paint things that my eye has never seen.
I keep my art to myself or dispose of it after completion because I can't explain them without sounding crazy.
Art is an expressive/creative outlet for disposing thoughts.
I love your channel.
Thank you.

[chocolateblack]

I appreciated the part that you said we should be cautious about over-reading.

[lionsteve]

Wonderful talk on work which can only be understood by seeing in person.

[magnussaeboe]

I love the video and am glad to be getting a deeper perspective on her work, but I'm taken aback by these negative comments. So vehement are they in their dismissal of her work as 'art'. I think one needs to open their mind when looking at modern works because the beauty and promise won't be shouted at you like in Jaques-Louis David paintings, but instead they are subtle and live in the contemplation the work asks for. I recommend all of you here in the comment section to relax, forget about what art should be, and just let your mind wonder about why someone would take the time to make this object, what this person is trying to say.

[cirimaxg]

Extreme refinement of an art pushed to the extreme.
What a remarkable work !

[rodd]

This pair of commentators work so well together. Each successfully present their interpretation beautifully. A truly exceptional collaboration which respectfully highlights the art and the Thank

[TheKarlgiovanni]

It is a medium of meditation through the expression of paintings.

[esarempee]

I saw this exhibition. Didn't know anything about Ms Martin.
I love simplicity, repetition and geometry so this was a joy for me.
You have to remind yourself that some artists just paint and produce work.
They don't talk about what it represents or means.
They don't make intellectual statements explaining their work.
Some people dislike the work and some love it for what it is.
Some are willing to pay lots of money to own it.
'Experts' step in and start interpreting the work.
For some this enhances the experience.
For others it irritates and enrages.
This is not the fault of the artist.

[janedalton]

glorious and articulately put - I really enjoyed the film, watching it the day after I visited the Agnes Martin exhibition.  Remembering the dissertation all those years ago when there was only a single piece on any gallery wall in the UK - Morning at the Tate Liverpool....

[MiKE-jzjt]

MY GOD... SHE WAS A GENIUS..! ABSOLUTE GOD LIKE..! HER TALENT WAS OUT WORLDLY..
i BOW BEFORE HER ART.. I CANNOT FIND THE ULTIMATE WORDS TO DO HER ARTWORK JUSTICE... SOMEBODY JUMP IN HERE AND TAKE OVER...!

[sharonjbe]

I'm delighted to be looking at Agnes' work with the sound turned off. I saw her work at the Pace in Palo Alto, in one room with Navajo Rugs in the other.

[phoeberyrko]

the way they talk is the opposite of her work ! They are so full of ideas

[artfox]

This show was amazing, have wanted to see Agnes' work for years. Was so elated afterwards. Thank you! - Art Fox Online Gallery.