“Diamond is a New York visionary. . . . One thinks of the vector-ridden outcroppings of John Marin’s ‘downtown’ pictures, Georgia O’Keeffe’s night-blooming monoliths, and the hectic avenues looming up in pictures by Franz Kline and Willem de Kooning. The energetic realist wing of the New York School belongs here, too: Jane Freilicher’s ever-deepening skylines, John Button’s reveries upon cornices and clouds, Yvonne Jacquette’s contemplative particularist overviews, and the recent ‘black’ paintings of Lower Manhattan at night by Alex Katz.”
— Bill Berkson, Artforum, 1990
Installation view, Alex Katz Foundation, Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine, 2024. From left: Philip Guston, Sunrise (1979); Martha Diamond, Central Character (1983). Photo: Hrag Vartanian/Hyperallergic
“The Alex Katz Foundation . . . expands and extends our region’s unique story of contemporary art to national and international audiences. In addition, many of the works bring experiences and ideas from beyond Maine’s borders to Portland and the PMA, specifically reinforcing the deep connections between Maine and New York, two regions with longstanding connections to the artist. In Central Character by Martha Diamond, from 1983, the forms are immediately identifiable as skyscrapers and towering buildings. In many ways it seems outside the visual language of Maine, but it immediately establishes that Maine-New York connection.” —Shalini Le Gall, Chief Curator, Portland Museum of Art
Selected Reviews and Press
2024 Will Heinrich, “A Jaw-Dropping Show Gives Martha Diamond Her Due,” The New York Times
Rachel Felder, “A Painter’s Panorama,” Art Basel | Miami Beach
Grace Edquist, “Canvas the City: Martha Diamond Captured the Brisk Energy of Manhattan,” Vogue
Jorge S. Arango, “She said she painted her ‘perceptions.’ This is what Martha Diamond meant,” Portland Press Herald
Maya Pontone, “Alex Katz’s Love Affair With Maine,” Hyperallergic
Jonathan Griffin, “In Martha Diamond’s Art, She Took Manhattan,” The New York Times
Will Heinrich, “Martha Diamond, Painter Who Captured New York Vistas, Dies at 79,” The New York Times
“Martha Diamond, 1944-2023,” Artforum
Alex Greenberger, “Martha Diamond, Painter of New York Through Her Own Distinctive Lens, Dies at 79,” ARTnews
2023 Maximilíano Durón, “David Kordansky Gallery Now Represents Martha Diamond, Painter of Striking Views of New York City,” ARTnews
2021 Will Heinrich, “3 Art Gallery Shows to See Right Now,” The New York Times
Chantal McStay, “See This: Glimpses of New York, Painted by Martha Diamond,” T: The New York Times Style Magazine
David Rhodes, “Martha Diamond: 1980-89,” The Brooklyn Rail
Canada Choate, “Martha Diamond on Painting New York,” Artforum
David Carrier, “Capturing the Light with Martha Diamond,” The Canvas
2020 Mark Westall, “In Her Hands, an Exhibition of Three Female ‘Painters’ Painters,’” FAD Magazine
2019 Jonathan Goodman, “Downtown Painting, Curated by Alex Katz,” The Brooklyn Rail
Installation view, Martha Diamond: Cityscapes, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, New York, June 23–July 27, 2018. From left: Cityscape No. 2, 2000; Bone Fire, 1991; Yellow Light, 1994. Courtesy Galerie Eva Presenhuber
2018 Peter Schjeldahl, “Goings on About Town: Martha Diamond,” The New Yorker
Tom McGlynn, “Martha Diamond: Cityscapes,” The Brooklyn Rail
2016 Jonathan Goodman, “Martha Diamond,” The Brooklyn Rail
Stephen Maine, “Martha Diamond at Alexandre Gallery,” ARTnews
David Carrier, “An Awesome Pursuit of Variety: Martha Diamond’s Little Pictures,” artcritical
2013 Rabia Ashfaque, “The Redefining of the Defining: Martha Diamond’s Church Series,” Come Together: Surviving Sandy (online exhibition catalogue)
2012 Ilka Skobie, “Diamond Bright: Martha Diamond at Sue Scott Gallery,” artcritical
2005 Joe Fyfe, “Martha Diamond at the New York Studio School,” Art in America
Joe Fyfe, “Martha Diamond/Essay,” New York Studio School
2004 Ilka Scobie, “A Hip Homage to New York,” artnet
2001 Ilka Scobie, “Urban Visionary,” artnet
1997 Ann Landi, “Queens Beauty,” Newsday
1994 Michael Kimmelman, “Art in Review,” The New York Times
Vincent Katz, “Sky Scraper: A Studio Visit with Martha Diamond,” Paper
1992 Holland Cotter, “Art in Review,” The New York Times
1990 Bill Berkson, “Martha Diamond: Sensation Rising,” Artforum
Ruth Bass, “Martha Diamond,” ARTnews
1988 Roberta Smith, “Action in New Paintings by Martha Diamond,” The New York Times
Eileen Myles, “Martha Diamond at Robert Miller,” Art in America
Robert Mahoney, “Martha Diamond,” Arts Magazine
1985 John Russell, “New Paintings by Martha Diamond/Jasper Johns Prints,” The New York Times
Stephen Westfall, “Martha Diamond,” Arts Magazine
Holland Cotter, “Martha Diamond,” Flash Art
Edmund Leites, “Martha Diamond at Brooke Alexander,” Art in America
1984 Barbara Moynehan, “Artist’s Loft Two: Martha Diamond,” Domus
“Two Paintings by Martha Diamond,” Bomb #9
Stephen Westfall, “Martha Diamond,” Arts Magazine
Alan Wintermute, “Martha Diamond: Brooke Alexander,” Flash Art
1983 Grace Glueck, “Martha Diamond,” The New York Times
“City Suite by Martha Diamond,” Bomb #8
1982 “Two Paintings by Martha Diamond,” Bomb #4
Roberta Smith, “Four Formulas in Flux,” The Village Voice
Grace Glueck, “The Artist’s Artists,” ARTnews
Stephen Westfall, “Martha Diamond’s Urban Vision,” Arts Magazine
1981 John Russell, “Martha Diamond,” The New York Times
1978 Lee Edwards, “Martha Diamond,” Arts Magazine
1976 Carter Ratcliff, “The Paint Thickens,” Artforum