Timothy Taylor

Eddie Martinez has gained international recognition for his extraordinary use of line and manipulation of colour, which he applies aggressively and in vividly contrasting combinations to his paintings and sculptures. His style draws from a deep understanding of painting’s histories, filtered through personal experience, popular culture and sport. Described as “indomitable” by Interview magazine, Martinez has recently attracted attention for his “exceptional gifts as a painter and draftsman, which he exuberantly combines.” (Roberta Smith, New York Times). Martinez’s paintings incorporate coarse brushwork and bold contours through the combination of mediums such as oil, enamel and spray paint, and often include collaged found objects.

Martinez has had solo exhibitions at Drawing Center, New York; Davis Museum at Wellesley College, Massachusetts; Peres Projects, Berlin; Half Gallery, New York; The Journal Gallery, Brooklyn; and ZieherSmith, New York. His work has been included in the group exhibitions New York Painting, Kunstmuseum Bonn (2015); Body Language, The Saatchi Gallery, London (2013–2014); New York Minute, Garage Centre For Contemporary Culture, Moscow (2011); Not Quite Open for Business, The Hole, New York (2010); Draw, Museo de la Cuidad de México, Mexico City (2010); So Wrong, I’m Right, Blum & Poe, Los Angeles (2007); Mail Orders and Monsters, Deitch Projects, New York (2007); and Panic Room: Works from the Dakis Joannou Collection, Deste Foundation Centre for Contemporary Art, Athens (2006). Martinez had his first solo museum exhibition in September 2017 at the Davis Museum, Wellesley, MA. The exhibition featured large-scale paintings from the Mandala series and recent bronze sculptures. In October 2017, The Drawing Center in New York presented a show of drawings and sketches from the artist’s studio. Following these successes, Martinez has gone on to be the subject of further major museum exhibitions including: White Outs, The Bronx Museum, New York, NY (2018) and Eddie Martinez: Fast Eddie, Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit, MI (2019).

Martinez was recently included in New York Close Up, Art 21’s documentary film series. He has been featured in Modern Painters, The New York Times, Interview Magazine, The New York Sun, The Boston Globe, ArtReview, The Brooklyn Rail, and Art in America.