Martha Williams Prideaux

In her multi-dimensional cold-wax and mixed media artworks, Martha Williams Prideaux asks us to consider how the choices we make have an impact on an unpredictable environment. Her work requires a dedication to constant questioning; of herself, her materials, and the world around her. This careful inquiry and expert manipulation of media results in paintings that inspire an enduring emotional response in the viewer. 

The colors and forms in her paintings are inspired by the North Carolina coast, furthering the metaphor of unpredictability through the elements as well as the philosophical weathering of life’s storms. Prideaux’s works aren’t all based on times of challenge and introspection, evidenced in the optimistic color palette she employs, and she also asks us to focus on brighter days. Prideaux’s work is firmly ensconced in what she observes within and around her; tapping into the full gamut of her sensory perceptions to create multi-layered and highly textural paintings that are as much a response to what she sees as to the human condition.

Prideaux lives and works in Richmond, Virginia and is on faculty at the VMFA Studio School. Her work is included in private and public collections across the United States and Mexico.

Statement from Prideaux’s March 2020 show, Rigged Reality with Dwell Fine Art and Craft.