Apophis

This painting imagines the near-earth asteroid, Apophis, named after the Egyptian god of chaos and destruction. Its nearest passage to earth will occur in the spring of 2029. Apophis will be visible to the naked eye then; in the meanwhile it is the subject of scientific study and passionate speculation.

Martina Nehrling is an American abstract artist whose dynamic and richly textured paintings evoke kaleidoscopic worlds of pattern, color, shadow and form.

Nehrling employs a highly developed, idiosyncratic painting method that involves methodical accumulations of abrupt, impasto brush marks.

Using pure, opaque colours, she projects a bold and vivid energy from her compositions. Each carefully placed mark grips on to its neighbour, forming hypnotic shapes and forms that seem to vibrate.

The hard edges and geometric shapes make the work feel structured and architectonic, while sumptuously oozing trails of  paint drip freely, betraying an embrace of the accident, and a respect for the human hand.