About the Artist
Marthe Rowen

I am an architect, artist and teacher, and have been a part-time resident of Martha’s Vineyard
for 30 years. I regard drawing as a tool for seeing and understanding. All of my drawings are
made from life and in the location of the subject, without the aid of cameras, computers, erasers
or memory. As such, I describes my work as Drawing (in) Place, meaning drawing a place by
drawing IN it.
Recently I have explored the depiction of wide-open spaces, expanses which cannot be
captured in a photo or image. This has led me to draw on increasingly wide frames, including
an ongoing series of panoramic views of Martha’s Vineyard. I draw all around the island, at the
edges, where water meets land, seeking to capture the spirit and sense of space and place,
whether it be the simplicity and serenity of a pond, the energy of a windy day at the beach, or
the detail and visual complexity of a harbor.
I make these drawings while standing in one spot and rotating full circle. I am trying to capture
the sense of what it is like to be in a place, to look around and take in the fullness of the
space. I draw what I see, and only what I see. I never invent. I try to to record the world in front
of me, at a particular time of light, of tide and wind and season, find the beauty in the moment
and the place, Sometimes, the light changes, or the lines bend as my point of view moves.
Sometimes a moving object (a plane, a ferry) will appear more than once in a drawing, as it
moves across my line of vision. You can discern the season and the time of day by the
proliferation (or absence) of people and boats in the water, by the rocks exposed or covered by
the tides. I like to think that I draw at the Intersection of time and space, so I always note the
time of day, as well as the date and location of a drawing.
I love the fact that these drawings are simple and humble - made in archival ink in Moleskine
folding sketchbooks - and also that they are flexible. A drawing can be “read” as a book,
turning the pages to view a sequence of discreet images; or as an “accordion” which can be
squeezed or expanded; or as a scroll, unfurled into a single, long image.
Over the past few decades, I have moved around the country, with my husband Craig Barton,
and our three now-grown children, from NYC to Virginia, Arizona, Chicago and finally to
Providence, always returning to Martha’s Vineyard. During this time, I have practiced
architecture, and taught drawing and architecture at many universities, including Brown
University and Rhode Island School of Design, where I currently teach part-time, The School of
the Art Institute of Chicago, Princeton University and Arizona State University. I have led study
abroad programs to Portugal, Spain and Morocco, and other ports around the Mediterranean. I
continue to practice and teach, and always, everywhere, I draw. I draw when I travel - on trains,
planes and boats, I draw when I am at rest; I draw for myself, and to share my simple joy of
capturing a moment and place.