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Martin DeWitt | Our Common Origins: Color Variations + Hybrid Forms

Morrison Gallery | December 20, 2022–February 24, 2023


“These paintings embody a holistic approach to healing, which begins at archetypal levels of body, mind, and spirit.” – Martin DeWitt


Martin DeWitt paints shifting shapes and colors, building kaleidoscopic textures that make visible the passage of time. He first identifies the underlying patterns from past sketches and photographs—skewed geometry, menacing forms, repetitive marks—then digitally carries them onto multiple printed canvases. These he paints, scrapes, drips on, and blends, using tools from fine point brushes to jagged tree branches, until each piece is a unique echo of other current and past work.

DeWitt’s paintings are multigenerational. He embraces technology, honors organic handiwork, and reworks previous canvases in conversation with his past self. The visible strata of paint, gritty debris, repurposed enamels, and digital printing mirror the layering of human feelings throughout a lifetime. Emotional excavation is a central healing process for DeWitt, who recognizes the universality of emotions as a basic connection, a common origin, between us all.


Image Credit: Martin DeWitt, "Our Common Origins I," mixed media, altered digital image, latex enamel, acrylic on canvas, 2020, 48"x36"


Martin DeWitt is an Emeritus Professor in the School of Art & Design, Western Carolina University/WCU, Cullowhee and Asheville, North Carolina. He is the Founding Director and Curator of the Fine Art Museum/WCU and former Director and Curator of the Tweed Museum of Art, University of Minnesota Duluth. He earned multiple degrees including an MFA in painting from Illinois State University, and an MA in Painting and Art History and BFA from Western Illinois University.









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