Eddie Martinez - New Now London Tuesday, December 15, 2020 | Phillips

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  • "I’m kind of dancing around this thing, doing it as quick as possible, and just letting the marks fall where they fall." —Eddie Martinez 

    Skullscape 3 (large), 2012, epitomises Eddie Martinez’s signature aesthetic- the monochromic background used to offset an otherwise wonderfully mysterious and vibrant abstract composition. The vivacious colours, dynamic lines and bulbous forms, in which the shape of the work’s subject can be subtly detected, unravel a story of their own. Every mark, trace, scrape and line recounts his creative process. 

     

    Martinez notes that his artistic production as being a quick and spontaneous one. The energetic gestural marks imbue Skullscape 3 (large) with movement, volatile pace and immediacy, mirroring Brooklyn’s buzzy atmosphere. Martinez works in the New York neighbourhood and  the influence of street graffiti is evident in his artistic practice “I learned a massive amount from graffiti that I’ve taken into the studio, in terms of scale and how to make large marks and how to take a small drawing and make it large.” i

     

    Martinez plays and experiments with an array of textures, media and methods, including spray paint oil, acrylic and markers, working directly onto the canvas. This mixed-media approach is signature of Martinez’s pictorial language whilst echoing references to the frenzied canvases of Willem de Kooning, Philip Guston and elements of street art. By using spray paint on canvas, Martinez allows for the controversial canon of art, considering “vandalism” and “low art” to be elevated into the category of “high art.” The originality of his canvases has earned him a place in numerous private collections and important notable public collections.

     

    i Art 21, ‘Eddie Martinez Whistles White He Works,’ New York Close Up, 2012, online

    • Provenance

      Private Collection, United States (acquired directly from the artist)
      Acquired from the above by the present owner

    • Literature

      Ross Simonini, Eddie Martinez: Paintings, New York, 2013, p.94 (illustrated)

11

Skullscape 3 (large)

signed and dated 'MARTINEZ '12' lower left
oil and spray paint on canvas
152.8 x 213.5 cm (60 1/8 x 84 in.)
Executed in 2012.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
£80,000 - 120,000 

Sold for £163,800

Contact Specialist

Simon Tovey
Specialist, Head of New Now Sale
London
+44 20 7318 4084

New Now

London Auction 15 December 2020