In a career that spans almost two decades, Martin has become renowned internationally for his rich, sensuous, abstract paintings. He achieved early recognition for this work with gallery exhibitions in London, Japan and Germany in the mid-1990s but was catapulted on to the international stage with the inclusion of his paintings in “Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection”.
His work subscribes to the western tradition of gestural painting, producing monochrome paintings on an aluminum background upon which the brushstroke becomes the subject matter. Color is the starting point, the background remains saturated, sometimes visible, sometimes invisible. Martin’s singular style of working the luxurious surfaces of his monochrome paintings with a purpose-built comb has become well-known internationally.
The shiny surfaces look rather like soft human hair combed into flowing waves that capture and reflect the light. Martin occasionally intermixes his paint with different shades of color, which on close inspection are perceptible as single streaks.
Martin was born in Jersey, Channel Isles. He studied at the Chelsea School of Art and Goldsmiths’ College, University of London.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2012 Galerie Thaddeus Ropac, Salzburg
2011 Nearby far – LA Louver Gallery, Venice, California
2010 Jason Martin – FAS Contemporary, London
Five Embossed Reliefs – Galerie Thaddeus Ropac, Salzburg
New Works – SalaPelaires, Palma de Mallorca
2009 Jason Martin – Renwick Gallery, New York
Jason Martin – The Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice
2008 Nomad – CAC, Malaga
Oceania – LA Louver, Los Angeles
Nomad – EsBaluard Museu d’Art Modern i Contemporani de Palma, Palma de Mallorca
Rock – Centro Brasileiro, Sao Paulo
Jason Martin – Espace Jean Legendre, Compiegne
Vigil – The Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venezia
Jason Martin – Renwick Gallery, New York
Selected Group Exhibitions
2011 Group show 2011 – SalaPelaires, Palma de Mallorca
2010 New Art Now – Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Birmingham
Cream – Kiasma – Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinski
Nice and Easy – Galeria Mario Sequerira, Braga
Tondo – FAS Contemporary, London
It Must Be Abstract – Galleria Cardi, Milan
3 x 3 – LA Louver Gallery, Venice
Cheat Codes: Lessons in Love – Atena, Chicago
2009 In-Finitum – Fortuny Museum, FondazioneMuseiCivici di Venezia, Italy (exh cat)
Group Show, LA Louver Gallery, Venice, CA ‘PAISAJES CRUZADOS Miradas a la coleccion de EsBalaurd’, EsBaluard, Palma de Mallorca