"Ned Martin"

Let's forget for a moment about the obvious skill that is needed to paint in a photorealistic manner, not because ability and exactitude are qualities shrugged off in the ennui-laden era we live in, but rather because it's evident in Ned Martin's work, and the less obsessed we are over it, the less oohs and ahs we generate in slack-jawedness, the better we can concentrate on what's happening behind the scenes.

The truth of the matter is that while talent is the foundation, that is, a pre-condition for painting in this manner at all, Martin's work isn't simply an exercise in style. Let's take "Winter's Dance" for example. It's realistic, but also just slightly off enough as to waver between the two. This isn't meant to slip into some hippie's dolt-speak "It's like real, man, but it's a painting", but rather to explain that the way Martin paints creates a subtle oscillation that's difficult for our eyes and minds to pin down.

-Andrew Beckerman