FERNANDO MARTINEZ
Fernando Martínez (b. 1960, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is, by profession, a furniture designer who has been designing and producing functional pieces for over 16 years. The furniture pieces he has created have been centred on the idea of fictitious pieces with an imagined history. Martínez has written elaborate texts to accompany and tell the unique life story of each work.
In his paintings, Martínez has drawn inspiration from commercial, hand-painted signs, while he delves once again into the exploration of fragmentation, the aging of materials, and imagined historicism. Bold colour and composition are integral components of the work, and the artist adds sociological and psychological twists that avoid easy interpretation of his pieces.
Most recently, Martínez has been experimenting with plaster and unconventional materials to create minimalist pieces that are a departure from his past work, yet linked to the latter through the sacred symbolism and primal quality of the finished piece. This most current work –particularly a series of striking monochrome black mixed media pieces- involves a confluence of past and present styles, that draw on his knowledge of Pre-Columbian and Native American Indian cultures; the artist continually reinventing and reinvesting meaning(s).
Fernando Martínez currently lives and works in Port Chester, New York.
Selected Exhibition History
Solo Exhibits
Miranda/Henaine, Port Chester, NY (2004)
Solar, East Hampton, NY – Suspended Belief (2003)
Solar, East Hampton, NY – Between Ritual and Perversity (2002)
Solar, East Hampton, NY – The Unspoken Life of Everyday Objects (2001)
Group Exhibits
Solar, East Hampton, NY – Pure Form (2006)
Chicago Contemporary & Classic, Solar booth, Chicago, IL (2005)
Solar, East Hampton, NY - Continuation of the Vanguard XXI (2005)
Solar, East Hampton, NY - Color/Liine/Form (2005)
Solar/Galou, Williamburg-Brooklyn, NY – Topologies (2004)
Solar, East Hampton, NY – Offcenter: Art in and out of Argentina (2004)
Solar, East Hampton, NY - Cartografia Americana (2004)
Solar, East Hampton, NY - Artists at Play (2004)
Solar, East Hampton, NY – Art(e) Spanglish (2004)
Crazy Monkey & Solar, Amagansett/East Hampton – Deseo (2004)
“Currents” Art Miami, Solar, Booth 609, Miami Beach, FL (2003/05)
Ollatay Gallery, Jackson Heights, NY – Pastel Drawings
Permanent Sculpture Installation, SUNY, Purchase, NY
Hurlbutt Gallery at Greenwich Gallery, Greenwich, CT
Mari Gallery, Mamaroneck, NY
In Search of the Spirit, The Gallery at Hastings on Hudson, Hastings, NY
Escape, Banco Popular, New York, NY
Ann Kolb Gallery, East Hampton, NY (2002)
Comeford and Hennessey Studio, Bridgehampton, NY (2001)