EDDIE MARTINEZ: Homework
July 15 – July 31, 2020

NEW YORK, July 15, 2020 – “I am drawn to containers. Putting marks, colors and shapes in a neat confined area all smashed in and having a solid blocked out background makes me feel like I am able to exploit maximalism and minimalism in the same picture. That feels pretty complete to me.

– Eddie Martinez, excerpted from the exhibition text of “Open Feast,”, Yuz Museum, Shanghai, 2019

Mitchell-Innes & Nash is pleased to present Homework, a body of new paintings on cardboard by Eddie Martinez. Related to the Yard Work series painted outdoors on Long Island in 2017, Martinez created the present Homework exhibition within the confines of the stayat-home order in New York State since March. These paintings depict the most iconic motifs of Martinez’s oeuvre (such as the Blockhead and the Still Life) in a challengingly concentrated format. Defined by bold colors and thick impasto, these works display a richly textured surface and a sculptural quality enhanced by the artistmade strip frames. 

About Eddie Martinez

Brooklyn-based artist, Eddie Martinez's work joins together painting and drawing, abstraction and representation in non-traditional ways. Imbued with a sense of personal iconography, his practice often combines signature figurative elements, such as bug-eyed humans and eclectic headgear with gestural, abstract blocks of color. Energetic and raw, his paintings employ an aggressive use of color and texture with various combinations of oil, enamel, spray paint and collage elements on canvas. Martinez also produces large and small-scale cast bronze abstract sculpture.

Eddie Martinez was born in 1977 in Groton, Connecticut and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Recent solo museum exhibitions include the Yuz Museum, Shanghai, (2019-2020); Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Michigan (2019); The Bronx Museum, New York (2018); The Drawing Center, New York (2017) and The Davis Museum at Wellesley College, Massachusetts (2017). He has also had solo exhibitions at Timothy Taylor Gallery, London (2014); Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles (2014); Half Gallery, New York (2014); and Journal Gallery, New York (2013). His work has also been exhibited in various group exhibitions at The Saatchi Gallery, London (2013) and Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Moscow (2011). Additionally, Martinez’s work has been featured in Modern Painters, ARTINFO, The New York Times, ArtReview, The Brooklyn Rail, and Art in America.

About Mitchell-Innes & Nash

Founded by Lucy Mitchell-Innes and David Nash, who previously headed the worldwide Contemporary and Impressionist & Modern Art divisions of Sotheby’s, Mitchell-Innes & Nash places exemplary contemporary artists within a historical context, revealing a continuity of ideas and aesthetic virtuosity from the Modern era through the present day. Lucy Mitchell-Innes is also a member of the selection committee of Art Basel and a former president of the Art Dealers Association of America.

Mitchell-Innes & Nash’s renowned exhibition program fosters excellence within artistic practice, while forging an informed dialogue between emerging and established internationally recognized artists. From acclaimed surveys of 20th century masters, such as Jean Arp, Anthony Caro, Jay DeFeo, Willem de Kooning, Leon Kossoff, Kenneth Noland, Roy Lichtenstein, and Nicolas de Stael, to solo exhibitions of Sarah Braman, Keltie Ferris, Daniel Lefcourt, Eddie Martinez, Pope.L, Martha Rosler, and Jessica Stockholder, Mitchell-Innes & Nash has proven expertise in both advancing the careers of emerging artists and maintaining the superior standard set by established artists.

Caption: EDDIE MARTINEZ, Untitled, 2020

© Eddie Martinez | Courtesy of the artist and Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York

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