The History of Things - Exhibition Opening

Martin's exhibition, The History of Things opened on 2 December 2021and coincided with the end of the two-year Covid impact. The exhibition was held at the new Black Cat Gallery on Brunswick Street in Fitzroy.

The artworks were based on masterpieces from the western art canon, which were used to exam history and the effects of time.

The blurred technique referenced a sense of distance between the now and the then, whilst the snapshots of details from the original works, alluded to contemporary image making and the effects of time on modern life.

Stilled Life - Exhibition Opening

Martin's latest exhibition, Stilled Life featured a series of works that permitted the viewer to engage in casual voyeurism. Scenes from everyday life took on a cinematic quality, when lit from within. 

The exhibition was held at BlackCat Gallery, 965 Johnston St, Collingwood and ran from 14th to 25th March 2018 

 

 

See the exhibition

Stilled Life - Kitchen

Stilled Life - Kitchen

Artist's in Coversation - Archibald 2014 at MPRG →

#Archibald2014 

As part of the Archibald Prize touring exhibition, the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery hosted a series of conversations with a selection of finalists. Here, artists Phillip Barnes, James Powditch and Martin Tighe are talking about celebrity portraits with Vivien Gaston.
See the facebook post

Vivian Gaston, Martin Tighe, James Powditch and Phillip Barnes discuss celebrities and painting. Image courtesy MPRG facebook page.

Vivian Gaston, Martin Tighe, James Powditch and Phillip Barnes discuss celebrities and painting. Image courtesy MPRG facebook page.

Work of Human Hands - Exhibition Opening

Martin's exhibition Work of Human Hands opened on September 4 at Hogan Gallery in Smith Street, Collingwood. 
Opening remarks were made by Campbell Thompson who stood in a very short notice for John Farnan, Director of Zeally Bay Bakery. An excellent night and opening event. 

See the exhibition
See photos from the exhibition opening...



Work of Human Hands - Fourteen

Work of Human Hands - Fourteen

Art Gallery of NSW - Richard Morecroft with Emma Ayres and Martin Tighe →

Art Gallery of NSW, Art After Hours

Normally ABC Classic FM’s Emma Ayres is the interviewer. Here she is the subject. Broadcaster Richard Morecroft interviews Emma Ayres along with Martin Tighe, who painted her Archibald Prize 2014 portrait.
Listen to the conversation

The Australian's Christopher Allen discusses this year's Archibald Prize →

The Australian, Christopher Allen

The most important thing in a portrait is a feeling of intimacy between artist and sitter, and this is something that obviously can only be achieved through spending some time working together, and cannot be derived from a photograph. Not surprisingly, most of the best of these portraits are also quite small. Notable examples include Heidi Yardley’s sensitive picture of Julia deVille and Martin Tighe’s appealing portrait of Emma Ayres, whom he had listened to on the radio long before meeting her; both of these pictures remind us of the expressive potential of hands and the advantages of the half-length format....
Read the complete article

Finalist - Gallipoli Art Prize →

Martin Tighe's painting Return to Sender was selected as a finalist in this year's prize competition. 
The Gallipoli Art Prize Organising Committee invites eligible artists to submit a painting for the Gallipoli Art Prize. The Gallipoli Art Prize competition commenced in 2006 and is conducted annually up to and inclusive of the Centenary Year 2015
See the finalists

 

Return to Sender Acrylic on Canvas 35 x 35cm

Return to Sender 
Acrylic on Canvas 
35 x 35cm

Rick Amor Self Portrait Prize 2013 →

Martin's first attempt at a self-portrait

‘It’s difficult to know yourself,’ wrote van Gogh in one of his many letters, ‘but it isn’t easy to paint yourself either.’ Yet artists keep doing it, whatever the dictates of fashion or their times.
The artwork is my first self-portrait. I expected that the painting of it would present the same challenges portraits of other people presented. I was surprised to find the experience confronting.
See the exhibition catalogue

Martin TigheSelf-portrait

Martin Tighe
Self-portrait

2013 Salon des Refusés →

S.H. Ervin Gallery, selected works

Martin Tighe's portrait of writer Gideon Haigh, was selected for exhibition in the Salon des Refusés. This exhibition was initiated by the S.H. Ervin Gallery in 1992 in response to the large number of works entered into the Archibald Prize not selected for hanging in the official exhibition. The Salon des Refusés exhibition at the S.H. Ervin Gallery has established an excellent reputation that rivals the selections of the ‘official’ prize exhibition and is often cited as a more lively and discerning selection.
Salon des Refusés read more

Martin Tighe's 2013 portrait of Gideon Haigh

A picture of defeat to ponder

By Greg Baum, The Age

In every sporting contest, there is at least one loser. In team sports, there are many losers at a time. In races, there are more losers than winners. This concept of defeat, at once cruel and inevitable, fascinates artist Martin Tighe, who has turned it into a series of paintings and now a sculpture. 

"I'm particularly interested in defeat. It's a richer field, a more complex emotion," Tighe said this week. "Winning is a simple emotion."
Read the article (pdf)

Victory and DefeatBronze Sculpture

Victory and Defeat
Bronze Sculpture

The Spirit of Football Exhibition →

National Gallery of Victoria, Spirit of Football Exhibition

Artists provide us with images that define the time and place we live in. Working in distinctly different styles, from disparate points of cultural and social origin, and from widespread geographic locations, the artists associated with this project have each responded in very personal ways to what they feel is the spirit of football.
Read more  (pdf)

Martin Tighe in his studio

Martin Tighe in his studio

Mallee Inspiration

By Mario Sequeira, Reproduced with permission from Stock & Land

You and I may not see anything in a rusty, discoloured, warped piece of flat iron lying in a paddock. Artist Martin Tighe however, see it as a painted canvas. 
He was so excited by the find last September – an idea was germinating in his head – that he brought the piece back with him, along with a few wheat ears, to Melbourne to work on. 
The result is 12 artworks using flat iron and wheat described as landscape compositions and entitled Wheat Fields. 
Read the complete article (PDF)

 

Martin with one of his Wheatfield Landscapes

Martin with one of his Wheatfield Landscapes