CONNECTING THE DOTS | a conversation with America Martin
Green Mangoes & Fruit Flowers | Oil and acrylic on canvas | 62” X 88” In. (157.48 X 223.52 cm)
JA: The lines, color, and geometry in your work contribute to a strong emphasis on compositional narrative. What do you expect of yourself as a storyteller?
MARTIN: The only thing I expect when I make art is to forget about everything entirely except the making of art. Time with its bougainvillea thorns always reminding you of its sharp minutes does not aid to the frame of mind for making art. To make art you must allow room for boldness to be expansive. I create my own world with the things I make. I paint, draw and sculpt the things that are pleasing to my own eye. Forms in joyful exuberance or calm strength and repose. I create a world where clothes are optional and nature is everywhere. Where birds and animals sing you songs under fruit trees in the light of the sun or shaded from heavy blossoming vines.
JA: What internal or external obstacles do you find yourself facing when creating your work? How do you overcome these challenges?
MARTIN: The obstacle always found in the making of art is that the heart and eye are so much faster in the making of a painting or sculpture than the time it takes here on earth. To make a sculpture can take weeks while -I’ve already seen it done and complete before I’ve touched steel or paint. But here is the other wondrous part in the inherent slowness of snail paced life. The process that happens when laboriously dragging bags of plaster from one side of your studio to the other- Is you say to yourself Hot Dam! What if I made the next thing out of THIS or THAT - and because of how the slow things in general take it allows you to grow and evolve your notions and create new solutions to new problems and oh but gee wezz! That’s just the very best.
JA: What makes a beautiful silhouette?
MARTIN: So many things, light, color boldness, vibe good shapes.
JA: How would you define beauty in 140 characters or less?
MARTIN: Beauty can look one million different ways. But I find beauty must have or be about one or more of these elements: truth, confidence, kindness, warmth, understanding, dignity and peace.
JA: Why do you love what you do?
MARTIN: I am in love with so much of this wild wide world. To be lucky enough to make art, which is essentially making visual Valentines declaring my admiration for the things I find wonderful, is a joy, honor and blessing.
Connecting the Dots
JoAnne Artman Gallery is pleased to present, Connecting the Dots, an exhibition featuring new works by America Martin. Referencing Paul Klee’s statement that, “A line is a dot that went for a walk,” the title serves as a fitting descriptor of Martin’s adept and exuberant use of line. Employing smooth, bold curves as well as hard, geometric strokes, she adheres to the most fundamental aspect of drawing – the line – to tell a story, connecting compositional elements and personal narratives throughout her practice.Experimenting with line weight and function as a tool for two dimensional representation of three dimensional forms, Martin takes on a new balance between solidity, weight and suggestion. Laden with nuance, the thick lines are filled with the bubbling energy of thin, long scrapes throughout their length – adding both intensity and dimension. Focused on the human figure and the tales that emerge through the framework of shape, contour, and formal approach, Martin choreographs her forms in relentless flux. Her technique of freehandedly capturing her subjects yields unapologetic marks and a spirited
palette that hums with the vitality and vigor of the world she creates. In addition to the figure, many of Martin’s works are populated with anthropomorphic elements such as birds, butterflies and flowers. For Martin, these elements provide both a contextual source of information, as well as symbolic significance, progressing the storyline as a representation of personality, mood, and character.
Indulging her imagination, Martin allows lines to guide the visual properties and narrative of each of her compositions in the continued and playful fantasy of a dot going for a stroll.
AMERICA MARTIN (b. 1980, Los Angeles, CA) is a Colombian American fine artist based in Los Angeles, CA.
America Martin’s work will inspire, provoke, engage and mesmerize. With visual perceptions always changing, peek behind the stories told and you’re sure to find the right artistic expression.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JoAnne Artman Gallery, Presents:
AMERICA MARTIN: Connecting the Dots
FEB-APRIL 2020
Artist Reception: March 5th, 2020 from 6-8pm
Please RSVP: 949.510.5481 by February 24th, 2020
JoAnne Artman Gallery
326 N Coast Highway | Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Contact: JoAnne Artman
Telephone: 949-510-5481
E-mail: joanneartman@aol.com