America Martin

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America Martin
BornJuly 7, 1980
Los Angeles, California, United States
NationalityAmerican
OccupationPainter and Sculptor
Websitewww.AmericaMartin.com

America Martin (born 1980) is an American painter and sculptor. Referring to herself as a painting anthropologist, Martin's primary subject is the human form. Her style mixes abstract and indigenous motifs and has been compared to the mid-century masters. She credits her Colombian roots for her aesthetic and tastes.[1] Martin is represented and collected internationally.

Family and early life[]

America was born in Los Angeles in 1980 to a family of artists. Her uncle is painter Knox Martin; her father is artist, matador, and author Ernest J. T. Martin; her mother is an academic, and her siblings all went on to pursue careers in the arts. At the age of nine, she came across a book on Vincent van Gogh and began to draw. Shortly thereafter, she began an eight-year apprenticeship with Vernon Wilson, a professor at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. Martin also worked briefly as an actress, notably as Patsy in Disney's The Rocketeer, while attending Crossroads School for the Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica, California.

Fine art[]

During her fifteen-year practice, Martin has worked in a variety of media, including painting, drawing and sculpting in steel and aluminum. Perhaps her most iconic work is her large format paintings of nudes. Of these works, art critic Stacy Davies wrote, “Martin’s women are hyper-real… They are solid, immovable, inerasable; they are present. They cannot be dominated, but not because they are angry or violent or ugly, but because they are stoic and centered and complete.”[2] In addition to her female nudes, Martin's subjects include jazz musicians, boxers, Native Americans, street scenes, landscapes and still lives.

In terms of process, Martin uses her whole body when painting, using the length of her arms to control the strokes. Her move to a new studio in Silverlake in 2009 allowed her to experiment with a variety of new media. It has and continues to act as a venue to host a variety of cultural events that support artist and community.[3] She traditionally works in collections- painting and drawing a unique body of work distinct to the location of the exhibition.

Career[]

Martin has been shown and collected internationally. In 2002, she had her first solo show in Beverly Hills and has since been exhibiting in solo and group shows. In 2009, she received a residency with the Walter Anderson Museum of Art, with a grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission. She has been represented in Austin, Laguna Beach, Los Angeles, New Jersey, New York City, Ontario, Santa Barbara, Taos and Maine.

Publications[]

In 2010, Martin's first book was published, titled Insouciance, which featured the artist's early career paintings and drawings. Her second book, entitled Yes, features work from 2009 to 2012. Both are published by Snail Press Publications.

References[]

  1. ^ "Cult Collective". Retrieved 2013-09-30.
  2. ^ Davies, Stacy. "America Martin Yes: Selected Work from 2009-2012". Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  3. ^ Ernest, Dagney C. (2013-08-28). "America's Take on Maine". Camden Herald.

External links[]

Selected press[]

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