Eddie Martinez
dal 11/9/2014 al 24/10/2014
Segnalato da
11/9/2014
Eddie Martinez
Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles
Nomader. The exhibition features new paintings, sculpture, and works on paper.
Kohn Gallery is pleased to present “Nomader”, an exhibition of new paintings, sculpture, and works on paper by New York-based artist Eddie Martinez, on view September 12 through October 25, 2014. This will be the artist’s first solo show in Los Angeles and at the Kohn Gallery. His work was most recently seen in London at the Saatchi Gallery’s exhibition, “Body Language” (November 2013 – March 2014).
Martinez draws his inspiration from a wide-range of sources, spanning from the ever-evolving landscape of the city to major art historical movements of the 20th century such as Abstract Expressionism, CoBrA, Neo-Expressionism, and Surrealism. An immediacy and physicality inhabit this work thanks to Martinez’s simultaneously gritty and graceful visual language. It’s a remarkably strong, muscular type of painting resulting from the influences of urban culture and the unrestrained emotionality of the modern masters.
Martinez’s work pushes the boundaries of what constitutes painting and, specifically, what comprises art. Traditional oil paint mixes with spray paint and the detritus of the studio: baby wipes, paper towels and gum wrappers are conspicuous in the textured landscape of these paintings. Vibrant color and expressive lines join together and dance around the composition, emitting a confident and powerful energy. Like the work of Philip Guston, Willem de Kooning, and Asger Jorn, pure abstraction and representation coexist on the canvas, continuously giving way to each other and contributing to the overall power that is inherent in these paintings. This deft balance looks even further into art history as it recalls the carnal primitivism of the turn of the century’s avant-garde, and the graceful lyricism of the Abstract
Expressionists.
Recent investigations have led Martinez to both small and large-scale abstract sculpture, made mostly from found materials including rubber hoses, Styrofoam, cardboard, and metal scraps sourced from wherever the artist is working at the time: Greenpoint and Bedford Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, or East Hampton and the North Fork in Long Island. In fact, all the work for this exhibition, Nomader, was made across these four different studios. The exhibition title is not only referential to his current art practice, but also autobiographical. Growing up, Martinez moved quite frequently and even lost his belongings on multiple occasions. Nomadism worked its way into the artist’s practice, informing the rich materiality and musculature of his work. This influence fueled an indefatigable evolution in the artist’s practice—a perpetual striving and searching that pushes the work against boundaries and convention.
About Eddie Martinez
Eddie Martinez (b. 1977, Groton, Connecticut) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He has been a resident at Bauernmarkt, Lenikus Collection, Vienna (2008) and was awarded First Place, Best Group Show in a Commercial Gallery for the Boston-area, by the International Association of Art Critics (AICA) Awards (2007). His work has been included in the following exhibitions: Body Language, The Saatchi Gallery, London (2012); Eddie Martinez, Peres Projects, Berlin (2011); New York Electric, Patricia Low Contemporary, Geneva (2011); New York Minute, Garage Center For Contemporary Culture, Moscow (2011); Eddie Martinez: Selected Drawings 2005-2011, Schwarz Contemporary, Berlin (2011); I Am Who I Am: The Portrait Reconsidered, Steven Zevitas Gallery, Boston (2011); Buffet State Of Mind, Sorry We’re
Closed, Brussels (2010); Eddie Martinez, ZieherSmith, New York (2010); Not Quite Open for Business, The Hole, New York (2010); Draw, Museo de la Cuidad de Mexico, Mexico City (2010); Wall to Wall, Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles (2010); New York Minute, MACRO FUTURE, Museum of Contemporary Art, Rome (2009); News and Updates, Galerie Mikael Andersen, Copenhagen (2009); Eddie Martinez, Seomi & Tuus, Seoul, Korea (2009); New Paintings, Galleri Loyal, Stockholm (2008); Hooters, Galeria Comercial, San Juan, Puerto Rico (2007); So Wrong, I’m Right, Blum & Poe, Los Angeles (2007); and Panic Room: Works from the Dakis Joannou Collection, Deste Foundation Centre for Contemporary Art, Athens (2006).
Kohn Gallery
1227 North Highland Ave - Los Angeles, CA 90038
Gallery Hours
Tuesday - Friday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Saturday 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.