EDDIE MARTINEZ – COWBOY TOWN
2017-04-10Deeply indebted to the histories of painting, yet realised in an immediately contemporary manner, Martinez’s canvases – formed from oil paint, enamel, spray paint, screen printing and studio detritus – are loaded with coloured, quasi-abstract masses in varying densities juxtaposed against shifting lines. The resulting dynamic imagery moves and merges from figuration to abstraction and back again.
Cowboy Town sees Martinez depart from recent bodies of work, as paintings are once again primarily figurative. Although not reminiscent of his early figurative works, they are a next step from the more recent abstract canvases. Each painting in this new body of work not only steps back into figuration, but also into an almost subconscious narrative, playing out in an open way. Gestures are strong but also impulsive. The paintings are full of energy and movement – images linger just out of reach, eluding fixed identity. One of Martinez’s remarkable traits is his ability to intuit the general mood of the world around him and translate the sentiment very clearly to his painting.
Opposite – When We Were In Good Hands, 2016
Exhibition runs through to May 6th, 2017
Timothy Taylor
15 Carlos Place
W1K 2EX London
England
