Javier Martin
Javier Martin
Javier Martin (Spain, 1985) is a multidisciplinary artist who bases his creative exploration on the careful observation of his surroundings, detecting semiotic relationships that might otherwise pass by unnoticed to an unperceptive viewer. With this approach, the artist constructs situations that invite reflection on impending matters in today’s world.
Raised in Spain, Martin began painting in oil colors at the tender age of seven, and had his first exhibition at the age of eight; however, he never allowed himself to be influenced by formal artistic training. Instead, he relied on his experiences, which allowed him to explore the possibilities of various materials and tools that he incorporates in his work today. Traveling, living, and working in countries - from Europe, South Korea, Hong Kong, to the United States - honed his observation skills, allowing him to learn from people and daily situations far removed from his background. During the Summer of 2012, Martin participated in his first exhibition in Asia M50 Art District. By 2014 he officially was represented by Matthew Liu Fine Art Gallery in Shanghai.
In addition to his international exhibitions around the world, he shares his knowledge and personal experience regarding the realm of art culture through speaking engagements. In 2015 he conversed with a group of students during a Conference at Alboran College in Marbella, Spain, discussing the impact that art had on his life. 2017 opened with him presenting his performance piece ‘Lies and Light’ at the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, followed by a discus- sion about the importance of breaking down the lights that veer us away from the path of truth. Most recently, he was a panelist in New Ways of Seeing, presented by New World Forum at Liang Yi Museum, Hong Kong.
Martin has equally experimented in painting, collage, sculpture, performance art and video art. Through his work, he proposes relation- ships among forms, surfaces, textures, and scenarios in which objects used on a daily basis relate to each other in unexpected ways. This talented artist consistently demonstrates his capacity to masterfully manipulate and relate materials and situations to construct sharp visual metaphors. In the Fall of 2015, Martin presented “War, Consumption, and Other Human Hobbies” a solo exhibition at Valli Art Gallery in Miami. Showing several pieces from his Blindness Collection as well a collection of works whose messages addressed themes of consumption and strategies of power within the global economy.
For over a decade, Martin has been developing one of his most iconic collections, Blindness. The eyes, classically associated with the reflection of human emotions, are always concealed whether behind a vibrant stroke of paint or a glowing neon light. With painting and collage, he reproduces images of seemingly perfect models, symbols of a standard of beauty and lifestyle that most people long to enjoy. Inspired by the juxtaposition between the grit of city surroundings and the glossy ads that line them, Martin deconstructs this perceived perfection to create a contrast between technology, collage, and painting.
In the Spring of 2016, Martin presented his first performance piece ‘Lies and Light’ at his solo show during Art Basel Hong Kong week. This performance also represents the latest evolution of the art- it’s Blindness concept. In this case, the artist manifests himself as the protagonist, literally shattering society’s barriers to convey the struggle against conformity, the fight for truth and freedom. This raw and rebellious performance find Martin completely vulnerable in an intense spiritual journey to overcome his past to progress.
In 2018, Martin continued to build on the questions raised by his performance art with installations that challenge viewers to examine their own blindness. Following his public Blindness mural for the 71st Festival de Cannes and his solo exhibition “Blindness the Appropriation of Beauty” (curated by Robert C. Morgan), Martin created a number of interactive installations in which the Blindness concept is more visceral and tangible than ever before. In ‘A Room Without Walls’, Martin riffs on his ‘Alma’ series with an immersive, completely mirrored room in which viewers see themselves infinitely repeated in the face of a figure blinded by neon light. For ‘The Dark Box’, exhibited at Valli Art Gallery in Miami and New York, Martin continues to challenge gallery visitors to directly interact with the Blindness concept. Developed in a world dominated by social media, Martin uses ‘The Dark Box’ to invite viewers to become a part of his art; at the same time, the piece creates a situation in which participants can question their own blindness to new means of consumption.
Martin’s most recent works show him revisiting the concepts behind his earliest works in the Blindness collection. In these large scale and expressive collages, Martin layers paint, prints, paper ephemera, and neon in order to present the Blindness concept with new complexity. Whereas he forces participants to examine their own blindness in his installations, these mature works show Martin mining his own oeuvre to reexamine Blindness more than a decade later. These reflective pieces have been exhibited simultaneously, at Plan B at David Zwirner and in a solo exhibition titled “BLINDNESS” at Valli Art Gallery New York in March, 2019.
Javier Martin presented his first solo museum exhibition at the Seoul Museum in Spring 2019 and his first solo exhibition in Japan at Maki Gallery on the fall of 2019.
Exhibitions
Upcoming
2022
Baanai / Javier Martin - Duo Exhibition (Maki Gallery) ISETAN The Space,Tokyo, Japan
Cute Tunes for Serious Sapiens - Group exhibition (Ascaso Gallery) Miami, USA
Lights Appropriation Solo exhibition (Pulpo Gallery) Murnau, Germany
2021
Skin in the Game - Group exhibition (Gallery HZ) Hong Kong
ICONIC ; 아이코닉 - Group exhibition (Seoul Museum) Seoul, South Korea
We Dance You Mean - Group exhibition (Cerquone Gallery) Madrid, Spain
INTERAZIONI -Group exhibition (A Pick Gallery) Turin, Italy
2020
Blindness -Solo exhibition (Koo House Museum) Yangpyeong, South Korea
Alma- A Room Without Walls Public Installation (TEAF20) Ulsan, South Korea
Blindness -Solo exhibition (Tri-bowl Art Space) Incheon, South Korea
Blindness -Solo exhibition (Audemars Piguet House) Madrid, Spain
Gallery Collection vol.1 (Tezukayama Gallery) Osaka, Japan
2019
Borderless Artist Project -Solo exhibition (Andong Arts & Culture Center) Andong, South Korea
Infinite Light - Solo exhibition (Maki Gallery) Tokyo, Japan
Borderless Artist -Solo exhibition (Seoul Museum) Seoul, South Korea
Blindness -Solo exhibition (Valli Art Gallery) New York, USA
Plan B (David Zwirner Gallery) New York, USA
Blindness The Dark Box Interactive Installation (520 West 28th by Zaha Hadid) New York
Blindness -Solo exhibition Curated by Valli Art Gallery (Miami Design District) Miami,USA
2018
Intra Moenia – Cattelani Collections (Campori Castle of Soliera) Modena, Italy
Blindness The Dark Box Interactive Installation (Valli Art Gallery), Miami, USA
Selected Works (Valli Art Gallery) New York, USA
Blindness x Cosybox (Cannes Film Festival) Cannes, France
Dear my wedding dress (Seoul Museum) Seoul, South Korea
Blindness The Appropriation of Beauty Curated by Robert C. Morgan, New York, USA
36th Korea Galleries Art Fair (Paik Hae Young Gallery) Seoul, South Korea
Convergence (Galerie Art District) Paris, France
2017
Blindness Alma- A Room Without Walls Installation (Valli Art Gallery Miami, USA
Art Miami (Paik Hae Young Gallery) Miami, USA
RAW- Blindness The Dark Box Interactive Installation (YAI) Miami, USA
Forza Group exhibition (Galerie Leroyer) Montréal, Canada
Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You (Paik Hae Young Gallery) Seoul, South Korea
Art021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair (Matthew Liu Fine Arts) Shanghai, China
Within The Light -Solo exhibition (Heart House Private Members Club) Munich
Art Shenzhen (Matthew Liu Fine Arts) Shenzhen, China
New Ways of Seeing, Art World Forum, Liang Yi Museum, Hong Kong - Meet the Artist (Soho House) New York, USA
Scope Art Show (J+ Gallery) Metropolitan Pavilion, New York, USA
LIES & LIGHT, Video Performance at Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA),Jacksonville, FL
Art Palm Beach (Valli Art Gallery), West Palm Beach, FL
2016
Context Art Miami (Valli Art Gallery) Miami, USA
Artist in Residence (Soho House) New York, USA
Blindness -Solo exhibition Curated by Valli Art Gallery (Toys for Boys) Miami, USA
Context New York (Valli Art Gallery) New York, USA
Private Event Blindness Neon Collection, JetSmarter, Malibú, CA
LIES & LIGHT Solo exhibition (California Tower, Loft 22), Hong Kong
2015
Basel Blindness, Art Basel Miami Week (Valli Art Gallery) Wynwood, Miami, USA
War, Consumption and Other Human Hobbies Solo exhibition (Valli Art Gallery) Miami, USA
Summer Show (Matthew Liu Fine Arts) Shanghai, China
Art Busan (Asian Art Works) Busan, South Korea
Art Edition Art Fair, (Hangaram Art Museum of Seoul) Seoul, South Korea
2014
3A/Galleries, Art Basel Week, Miami, USA
Select Fair (Lavio Fine Art) Miami, USA
Blindness NEON (Kee Members Club) Hong Kong, China
Art021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair (Matthew Liu Fine Arts) Shanghai, China
Group exhibition (Pantocrátor Gallery) EBPC FreeTrade Zone, Shanghai, China
Cambiando Vidas (Luz Botero Fine Art) Panamá
Art Gwangju, (Lavio Fine Art) Gwangju, South Korea
Art Busan, (Lavio Fine Art) Busan, South Korea
“Eyes on me, please!” Solo exhibition (Houses of Art Gallery - HOA) Marbella, Spain
Art Lima (Pantocrátor Gallery) Lima, Perú
2013
Enlaces (Luz Botero Fine Art) Ocean Reef Island, Panamá
Select Fair, Art Basel Week, Miami Beach, USA
Live Painting (Art Shopping Festival for Charity) Andorra
Swab Art Fair, (Pantocrátor Gallery) Barcelona, Spain
Art Meets Fashion, City Bush Terminal, Brooklyn, New York, USA
M50 Contemporary Art District (Pantocrátor Gallery) Shanghai, China
Lavio Fine Art Vip Preview, Kee Club, Shanghai, China
CNCPT13 Gallery, Amsterdam
2012
Eyes wide shut, Solo exhibition (Arte City) Miami Beach, USA
Amsterdam Showcase, (Pantocrátor Gallery) Amsterdam, Holland
Art is the message Solo exhibition (Myra Galleries) Wynwood Miami, USA
Berliner Liste Art Fair, (Pantocrátor Gallery) Berlin, Germany
Frankenstein (ECCO) Contemporary Art Center, Cádiz, Spain
Swab Art Fair (Pantocrátor Gallery) Barcelona, Spain
Group exhibition M50, (Pantocrátor Gallery) Shanghai, China
Group exhibition (Houses of Art Gallery, HOA) Marbella, Spain
2011
Lo Que Existe Sin Ser Visto (Poligono Gallery) Marbella, Spain
Group exhibition (IVAM, Institut Valencià d’Art Modern) Valencia, Spain
“Thinking about Color” (Kasser Rassu Gallery) Marbella, Spain
Blindness (Baltus West Erie) Chicago, USA
Imm Cologne (Baltus) Cologne, Germany
2010
Blindness on paper (Baltus Beverly Blvd) Los Angeles, USA
Permanent Exhibition (Collection Prive) Cannes, France
2009
Art Fusion, Sotogrande Cádiz, Spain
Blindness (Resort La Torre Golf, Copa Davis) Murcia, Spain
Showroom Grupo Grancasa, Madrid, Spain
2008
Maison & Objet (Baltus) Paris, France
2007
Collective Quum Artist Digital Printing (Pedro Peña Art Gallery) Marbella, Spain
Collective Quum Artist (Pedro Peña Art Gallery) Marbella, Spain
2006
Estampa Art Fair, Madrid, Spain
Arte Lisboa Art Fair, Lisbon, Portugal
1994
Henry Studio Collective (Centro de los hijos the Ceuta) Spain
Group exhibition (Revellín Museum) Ceuta, Spain
Awards
2011 Young Award arts and environmental sustainability, Marbella Spain
1994 The Painting modality of the Painting and drawing contest for children “Caja Madrid” Ceuta, Spain
1994 Mention of Honor for the exhibition of Henry's studio students (Museo del Revellín) Ceuta, Spain
Speaking Engagements
2019 Artist Talk (The CORE members club) New York, USA
2017 Artist Talk (Soho House) New York, USA
2015 Conference at Alborán College, Marbella, Spain
Available Works
2021
Collage on wood, acrylic, oil color and neon light
47 × 39 in