This exhibition consists of paintings made by Martin Machado throughout the last year and marks his second solo show with Eleanor Harwood Gallery. In this group of works Machado continues to develop several ongoing series relating to the natural world’s cycles and his experience working on the water as a commercial fisherman and merchant mariner. The ship’s wake plays the largest role in the show, carrying the viewer between time and place of the other pieces; from one month’s full moon phase to a far off shoreline. The repetition in these works illustrate the artists’ fascination with the passing of time, the blurring of memory, as well as the blessing and curse that labor plays in our lives. As seen in his previous exhibition most of the “Wake Series” works are painted in oil, both on linen, and on nautical charts collected from international containerships Machado worked on as a merchant mariner. However, many of these recent paintings have a color pallet that has shifted closer to his nocturnes. The highlights on the water are at times muted in a sepia that could be seen as reflecting a smoke filled sky, while in others a golden hue like the slivers of sunlight breaking through a storm. The moodiness of these works is also reflected in the show’s title “Fine Dine the Demons” borrowed from the lyrics of musician Adrienne Lenker’s song titled “Once A Bunch.” In the chorus Lenker sings out “half a margarita, have a little dance, let's fine dine the demons and give peace a chance.” With equal parts gallows humor and heartfelt optimism, Machado searches for a ray of light in the hopelessness of our collective consciousness.
