SYLVIA MARTINS' "BURMA" OPENS AT LEONARD TOURNÉ GALLERY

June 2020 — New York, NY —Leonard Tourné Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of SylviaMartins' "Burma." The exhibition is viewable online and by appointment and runs through June 20, 2020. Sylvia Martins' paintings and drawings are near abstractions that evoke images from nature and organic forms. Her work is heavily informed by travel; the influences include ethnic design, anthropology, decorative arts, and rituals, among other things. Martins doesn’t follow tendencies. Her focus is on painting itself.  In her latest body of work, Martins explores Myanmar (formerly called Burma) and its natural beauty, wilderness, and spirituality as well as the country's troubled past and present with its religious wars, ethnic conflict, and oppression. This contraposition of abundance and transgression is reminiscent of what many countries around the globe, including our own, are experiencing in this very moment. Born in Bagé in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul, Martins graduated in Visual Communications from the University of Rio de Janeiro. In 1979 she moved to New York to study at the School of Visual Arts and with Richard Pousette-Dart at the Art Students League of New York. There, Pousette-Dart encouraged her to further explore the possibilities of personal and spiritual direction in her creative development.  Martins currently lives and works between New York City and Rio de Janeiro. Her work can be found in numerous public and private collections throughout South America, Europe, Asia, and the United States. "Burma" is currently viewable online and by appointment and will run through June 20, 2020. In the wake of COVID-19 and other global events, Leonard Tourné Gallery is donating 50% of our profits to non-profit organizations supporting the arts and strengthening our communities during these difficult times. This policy will remain in place for the foreseeable future.  For additional details on the work of Sylvia Martins, or to schedule a viewing, please contact Leonard Tourné Gallery at (212)219-2656 or info@leonard-tourne.com. SELECT WORKS BY SYLVIA MARTINS Sylvia Martins, "Delight," 2019, 60 x 60 inches, Oil and Mixed Media on Linen Sylvia Martins, "Bagan," 2019, 50 x 50 inches, Oil and Mixed Media on Linen The artist, Sylvia Martins, at work in her SoHo studio Sylvia Martins, "Inle Lake," 2019, 50 x 50 inches, Mixed Media on Linen Pages of the artist's book, Sylvia Martins Sylvia Martins, "Eden," 2019, 40 x 40 inches, Oil and Mixed Media on Linen