My paintings are visual rhythms inspired by the cacophony of daily life, at once the weight and the flimsiness of it. Compelled by the pulsation of the beautiful and horrific relentlessly clashing I create compositions of accumulation. Grouped or tangled together, I use multiple distinct brushstrokes for their graphic directness, but highly saturated chroma in order to heighten the effect of color’s imprecise language. I am utterly seduced by the formal complexity of color while I revel in its emotive slipperiness and enjoy mining its controversial decorativeness. The inextricability of these aspects unique to color, continually spurs my engagement. Additionally, color is significant to a striking auditory experience during my painting process. To develop the tenor, tonality and rhythm of a piece I listen to the spatial relationships and interrelation of color, often combining both sonorous and percussive qualities. I use particular color relationships to interrupt or punctuate the tracking of patterns of value and intensity, creating moments of concord and discord, taking pleasure in syncopation and visual rhyming. With color that refuses to be ignored in patterns akin to lists, sentences or notes, my paintings operate as lyrical musing, lush celebration, high pitched lament or raucous rebellion.


RESUME

Education
2001 M.F.A. The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
1993 B.F.A. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Solo Exhibitions
2012
In Defense of Wondering, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
2010
What the Walls Heard, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
Wonderstruck, Union League Club, Chicago, IL
2008
Through a Purple Patch, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
2006
Echo, O’Connor Gallery, Dominican University, River Forest, IL
Tangle, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
2005
Martina Nehrling: Paintings, South Bend Regional Art Museum, South Bend, IN
Martina Nehrling: Recent Paintings, Prairie State College Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL
2004
Overlap, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
Recent Paintings, CCAB Gallery, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
2003
Constancy, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
2002
Martina Nehrling, Recent Paintings, McHenry County College Gallery, Crystal Lake, IL
2001
Martina Nehrling, New Paintings, Marshall Arts Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ

Selection of Group Exhibitions
2011
125 Years of Collecting Celebration Exhibition, Union League Club, Chicago, IL
MDW Fair, Chicago, IL
2010
20th Evanston + Vicinity Biennial, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL
2010: A Selection From a Decade of Painting at the Department of Visual Arts, DOVA Temporary, Chicago, IL
2009
Abnormal Formal 1, Kunz, Vis, Gonzalez, Chicago, IL
Group Show, Ruschman Gallery, Indianapolis, IN
Clusterf#*k!, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
Winter Show, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
Faculty Exhibition, Sonnenschein Gallery, Durand Art Institute, Lake Forest, IL
2008
Painters & Sculptors Make Prints, Crisp-Ellert Art Museum, St. Augustine, FL
Summer Show, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
Winter Show, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
2007
Painters & Sculptors Make Prints, Edenfred, Madison, WI
Summer Show, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
ArtFutura, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL
2006
Bridge Art Fair / Zg Gallery, Miami, FL
(un)Natural History, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
Faculty Exhibition, Sonnenschein Gallery, Durand Art Institute, Lake Forest, IL
Art Chicago / Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
2005
A Perfect 10, Prairie State College Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL
Just Good Art, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
Working Process, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
Summer Show, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
Art Chicago: Art in the Park / Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
Colorfixation, ab / wo Galleria d’Arte Contemporanea, Rome, Italy
Faculty Exhibition, Sonnenschein Gallery, Durand Art Institute, Lake Forest, IL
2004
Pieces: Compositions of Accumulation, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
Summer Show, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
The Artists of A.R.T., Christopher Art Gallery, Prairie State College, Chicago Heights, IL
2003
As Small as Possible, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
Past and Present, Sonnenschein Gallery, Durand Art Institute, Lake Forest, IL
Compendium, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
Points of Departure, Creative Arts Guild, Dalton, GA
Color Bias, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
The Big Picture Show, Betty Rymer Gallery, Chicago, IL
Recent Works, Sonnenschein Gallery, Durand Art Institute, Lake Forest, IL
2002
12” x 12”, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
Cause and Effect, Lake Forest Academy, Lake Forest, IL
A Good Look, Thomas McCormick Gallery, Chicago, IL
Living Art 2, Gallery 37, Chicago, IL
2001
Small Treasures, Fassbender Gallery, Chicago, IL
2000
Wanderlust, Modified, Phoenix, AZ
The Candy Show, 2430 Washtenaw, Chicago, IL
1999
Positive/Negative 14, Slocumb Gallery, Johnson City, TN

Professional Experience
2011
Visiting Artist, Chicago Careers in the Arts, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
2009 – 2011
Adjunct Professor, Associated Colleges of the Midwest, Chicago, IL
2009
Visiting Artist, Columbia College, Chicago, IL
Guest Critic, Dominican University, River Forest, IL
2002 - 2009
Lecturer, Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, IL
2002 - 2006
Instructor, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
2001 - 2003
Artist in Residence, A.R.T. (Art Resources in Teaching), Chicago, IL
2001
Instructor, McHenry County College, Crystal Lake, IL
2000
Visiting Artist, Visual Arts Project, Chicago, IL

Awards
2006 & 2002
Community Arts Assistance Program Grant, Chicago Cultural Affairs
2001
Finalist Award, Illinois Arts Council

Publications
New American Paintings, Issue No. 95
New American Paintings, 15 Years Anniversary Edition, 2009
Chicago Tribune, “Martina Nehrling at Zg Gallery,” June 13, 2008
University of Chicago Magazine, “Arts & Letters, Peer Review: Martina Nehrling,” Vol. 98, No. 6, June 2006
Chicago Tribune, “Martina Nehrling at Zg Gallery,” June 2, 2006
Chicago Reader, “Hot and Heady,” Vol. 33, No. 52, February 2004
Art & Antiques, Vol. 27, No. 8, September 2004
Architectural Digest, Vol. 61, No. 8, August 2004
Chicago Reader, “Critic’s Choice,” Vol. 33, No. 19, February 2004
New American Paintings, Vol. 41, September 2002
Art & Antiques, Vol. 24, No. 11, December 2001