patrick martin

Bio

Patrick Martin infuses socio-political themes in his mixed media sculptures to create a discourse between form, space, and content. He has received numerous awards and grants while maintaining a national exhibition record. Martin earned his BA from Centre College in Danville, KY and his MFA from Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. He has taught at the Pilchuck Glass School, Unitec Institute of Technology in Auckland, New Zealand, and Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. He is currently a Professor of Art at Emporia State University in Emporia, KS where he was named the Roe R. Cross Distinguished Professor in 2017.

artist Statement

The evolution of my work is developing along two major lines. The first is based upon the concept that objects with an independent existence wholly apart from aesthetic concerns can be transformed into sculpture without robbing them of their historical significance by attempting to negate the original purpose of their existence.  My motivation is to alter and thereby immortalize the object, creating something that can address current ideas or comment on contemporary society. By transforming mundane objects into sculpture, the objects are given a different identity in time and space.

The second area of concentration focuses on making a successful transformation of narrative ideas into visual forms, in which neither one dominates the other. Themes that populate the work are based upon current sociopolitical issues and trends. There is a great deal of ambiguity in the narrative, as though it might be told through associative leaps instead of a linear story line. This provides the viewer with a greater opportunity to bring in their own references, creating an aggregate narrative that is greater than the sum of its parts. The goal is to provide a matrix of forms and images within whose boundaries the viewer participates.       

exhibitions