In this exhibition, Robert Martin presents a series of paintings evoking the thick humidity and dripping sentimentality of an upper-Midwest upbringing.

Martin’s connection to nature is woven into their family history, with both sides of their lineage contributing to their understanding of the natural world. On their mother’s side, bird enthusiasts were involved in Audubon societies and birdwatching clubs, while their father’s side passed down a lexicon of colloquial nicknames and pseudonyms for Wisconsin’s birds and plants. For example, Martin believed that blue herons were called "shypokes" well into their teens. The contrasting influences of scientific observation and family folklore shaped their own relationship with the natural world, and the titles of the works in Northwoods Incantation honor both means of relationship building and knowledge sharing.

The artist’s upbringing in the Catholic Church, with its rich aesthetics of art and architecture, also continues to inform their depictions of the natural world through the lens of spiritual experience. In this body of work, iconic birds of the Midwest such as loons, snowy owl, and red-tailed hawk are portrayed as sigils or charms bathed in glowing light, deifying the relationship between the artist and the species they share their environment with. In these paintings, Martin subtly incorporates religious influences, exploring themes of ritual and devotion. 

Parallel to their religious background, communing with the natural world has been the space in which the artist has found a reflection of their queer identity. Martin’s painting practice mines the histories and aesthetics of the rural Midwest, seeking to demonstrate the reality of queerness in these places in order to combat the insidious notion that it is somehow unnatural, unprecedented, and thus unwelcome. Martin’s paintings capture the nuanced realities of queerness in rural spaces, manifested in small gestures, unspoken bonds, or moments of unexpected beauty that challenge the conventional culture.  

In Northwoods Incantation, Martin meditates on the power of storytelling—whether through family traditions, religious iconography, or the human tendency to mythologize that which we do not fully understand.