American painter and sculptor

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. Martin is represented and collected internationally.

Contents

• 1 Family and early life
• 2 Fine art
• 3 Career
• 4 Publications
• 5 References
• 6 External links
  • 6.1 Selected press

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.” 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. 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, *led Insouciance, which featured the artist's early career paintings and drawings. Her second book, en*led Yes, features work from 2009 to 2012. Both are published by Snail Press Publications.

References

External links

• America Martin Website
• America Martin at the Joanne Artman Gallery
• America Martin at Carver Hill Gallery
• America Martin at Mark Gallery
• America Martin Tumblr
• Snail Press Publications

Selected press

• Los Angeles I'm Yours - A Life In Painting: An Interview With America Martin - Oct 2013
• Camden Herald - “America’s take on Maine” Aug 2013
• Maine Today - “Work, Dignity, and Beauty: Q&A with America Martin” Aug 2013
• TheCultCollective.com - “Cult Obsessed: America Martin” July 2013
• Racked LA - “Dan Deutsch Optical Taps Top LA Artisans for New Campaign” May 2013
• Los Angeles Confidential - “Real LA Beauties” May 2013
• Fundschau - “America Martin” Sept 2012
• The Sche Report - “Studio Visit with Artist America Martin” Aug 2012
• Culture Map Austin - “Artist America Martin returns to Austin..." May 2012
• OC Weekly - “America Martin Accepts No Subs*utes” March 2012