MARIO MARTINEZ
Toward A Distant Dawn
June 7 - July 19, 2014
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 7th from 6 - 9 PM
Martha Otero Gallery is pleased to present Toward A Distant Dawn, an exhibition of new paintings and sculptures by San Francisco-based artist Mario Martinez (aka Mars-1).
Mario Martinez's concepts are informed by cosmology, ufology, altered states of consciousness, his psyche and its relationship to space.
In Toward A Distant Dawn, diffracted patterns combined with orbital formations made of large gestural circular brush strokes create a sense of kinetic energy. A gradient expansion of color and light produce an after-glow (similar to those in gamma-rays). Layered details of geometric-organic firmaments, resembling space debris, amalgamate with an abstracted imaginative landscape. Cast bronze molecular sculptures of celestial spherical elements are fabricated using both additive manufacturing and the ancient technique of lost-wax. Unforeseen Possibilities shows the cognitive effects of black and white shapes visually designed to process optical illusory motion. The undulating black holes are reminiscent of the unfathomable scope of the cosmos.
In this highly mathematical work, infused with an intense fascination for natural biology and quantum mechanics, Martinez conveys an immersive visceral experience.
Mario Martinez was born in Boulder, Colorado in 1977. Exhibitions of his work have been hosted at venues in San Francisco, New York, Detroit, Toronto, Lisbon, Italy, and Brazil. He participated in The Vader Project (2009) at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh and was a part of a group exhibition entitled Robots: An Evolution of a Cultural Icon (2008) at the San Jose Museum of Art, California; Natural and Unnatural: Imagining Landscape, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Clinton, NJ. This is his first solo exhibition with the gallery.
MARTHA OTERO GALLERY
820 N Fairfax Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90046
t. 323 951 1068
gallery@marthaotero.com
