Agnes Martin #6

Adobe studio and house built by Agnes Martin in Galisteo, New Mexico, beginning in 1977. photo made in 2000.

"....
When Martin first returned to New Mexico after years of working in New York City, followed by a nearly three-year detour across North America in her camper, she initially did not paint at all. Instead she focused entirely on building houses—strictly functional shells for living and painting.

Though Martin never owned the land upon which she built, while in New Mexico, she built three living complexes with her own hands, each with multiple buildings, including one in Galisteo [see Plate 7]. In all three, she used traditional materials, making her own adobe bricks and transporting the large vigas (rafter beams) in her own truck. She poured straw and mud into rectangular frames and kept pouring until the bricks were all dry and ready to be laid.

Only after most of her second dwelling, this one in Cuba, New Mexico, was complete did she build herself a studio, a small bunker-like structure built into the ground to provide coolness in summer and warmth in winter. Slowly, through the time-consuming process of making and building with adobe bricks, Martin found her way back to painting, working at first almost entirely on paper.
...."
(bron: image journal, foto: Joanna Weber)


Agnes Martin with Arne Glimcher in front of her studio in Cuba, New Mexico, 1974. (bron: Art Canada Institute, foto: Fred Mueller)












Agnes Martin studio and home.

"PERFECT ARTIST'S RETREAT AND STUDIO Situated on a little over 3 acres of gardens, orchards and well maintained grounds, in the historic village of Galisteo New Mexico just south east of Santa Fe, the former home and art studio of Agnes Martin in now placed for sale. This home offers privacy, comfort and inspiration. Sitting along the Galisteo River Bosque, the property embraces the buyer seeking Zen quiet and peace of their own southwestern enclave. This (SF, 1bd,1bath) house showcases exceptional modern finishes, a gourmet kitchen, spa like master bath with river-stone accents, beamed ceilings and travertine tile floors throughout. The generous use of full length doors and windows creates an expansive contemporary oasis that offers spectacular vistas of the high desert while promoting an effortless indoor-outdoor lifestyle. Martin's historic art studio doubles as a serene guesthouse with its own kitchenette, bath and storage. Come relax in the outdoor garden patio with a glass of wine and bask in the breath-taking sunsets silhouetting the ancient Cottonwoods."
(bron: Sotheby's International Estate)


Agnes Martin home and studio, 1992. (bron: Vogue, foto: Mary Ellen Mark)