Adam Normandin’s Paintings of Freight Trains

Adam Normandin paints everyday things that many not be recognized by most as beautiful, yet the ordinary can be compelling, truthful and soulful.

Normandin chooses subjects that fascinates him. Recently, that has been freight trains, industrial machinery and old tools.

“Years of use and exposure to the elements imprint a sense of tireless duty onto these objects. They are purely functional and have a “no-nonsense” existence that resonates with my own way of working”, says the artist.

“Freight trains are particularly intriguing to me because they are travelers, relentlessly moving from one place to the next, year after year. Many have been in operation for several decades, without rest. All the layers of rust, numeric codes and graffiti give the surface of each train a unique character. Accumulated details reveal truthful and compelling stories, transforming an ordinary object’s nature into something full of history and inherent beauty. If something mundane and functional can communicate such richness and complexity then perhaps we can find meaning within the most ordinary aspects of our own lives as well.”