Mitchell-Innes & Nash

Chris Martin · February 12 - March 27, 2009

1018 Madison Avenue
February 12 - March 27, 2009

Press Release

Mitchell-Innes & Nash will present an exhibition of works on paper by Chris Martin in its Madison Avenue gallery from February 12 through March 27. This will be the artist's second solo show with Mitchell-Innes & Nash.

The exhibition will include over forty works from the last twenty years. The works in the show capture Martin's spirit of experimentation and demonstrate an almost compulsive approach to art-making. The drawings and paintings on paper utilize wildly diverse materials, from paint and crayon to fabric, aluminum foil, album covers and the artist's own last will and testament. They vary from rapid sketches to collages and complete paintings, and explore Martin's recurrent themes of geometric forms, seven-pointed stars, number systems, and jazz icons. Some imagery hints at the mystical and psychedelic – mushrooms and pyramids – while other works fall squarely within the traditions of abstraction.

For Martin, the two are not necessarily distinct: abstract painters are his shamans, their works talismanic. His irreverent references to artists including Alfred Jensen, Frank Stella, and Barnett Newman yield a body of work both playful and utterly serious about the practice of painting.

Chris Martin was born in 1954 and lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts and attended Yale University. Recent group shows have included "Abstract America" at the Saatchi Gallery in London, "Painting as Fact – Fact as Fiction" at de Pury and Luxembourg, Zurich, and "The Painted World" at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, New York. He is represented by Mitchell-Innes & Nash.

Listing Information:

Mitchell-Innes & Nash: 1018 Madison Avenue, 5th Floor (between 78th and 79th)
Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday 10-5 T: 212.744.7400
Opening Reception: Thursday February 12, 6-8 pm

Press Contact: Jessica Duffett jessica@miandn.com 212 744 7400

Exhibition Artists

View Chris Martin Artist Information

Exhibition Images

CHRIS MARTIN
"Green, Yellow, Orange," 2008
Spray-paint and charcoal on paper
30 1/8 by 22 3/4 in. 76.5 by 57.8 cm.


CHRIS MARTIN
Seven Pointed Star (Black) (Basel)
2008
Acrylic on paper
16 5/8 by 12 in. 42.2 by 30.5 cm.


CHRIS MARTIN
"Arizona...," 2000
Acrylic and watercolor on paper
19 1/4 by 15 1/4 in. 48.9 by 38.7 cm.


CHRIS MARTIN
"Amanita Muscaria," 2008
Acrylic on paper
11 3/4 by 8 3/8 in. 29.8 by 21.3 cm.


CHRIS MARTIN
"Burma Sunrise," 2000-02
Acrylic, collage and ink on paper
14 1/14 by 10 1/2 in. 35.7 by 26.7 cm.


CHRIS MARTIN
"1,2,3,4,5,6,7...(Ravine)," 2004
Paint or tar and indentation on foil
11 by 8 1/4 in. 27.9 by 21 cm.


CHRIS MARTIN
"Untitled," 2008
Acrylic on paper
11 5/8 by 8 5/8 in. 29.5 by 21.9 cm.


CHRIS MARTIN
"Untitled," 1985-97
Acrylic on paper
10 1/2 by 7 7/8 in. 26.7 by 20 cm.


CHRIS MARTIN
"W123 B123...," 1999
Oil on fabric
13 7/8 by 10 7/8 in. 35.2 by 27.6 cm.


CHRIS MARTIN
"Untitled," 2008
Spray-paint on hand made paper
33 3/4 by 21 1/4 in. 85.7 by 54 cm.


CHRIS MARTIN
"1-7... (Utah)," 2000-01
Acrylic on paper
19 1/8 by 13 1/4 in. 48.6 by 33.7 cm.


Installation view


Installation view


Installation view


Installation view


Installation view