STATEMENT

The seductive utopian views constructed in Martyr’s work conjure a timeless sense of elegance and nostalgia, as Martyr marries together found images with remembered places. We find that these familiar settings become soft-focus templates for the mnemonic, at once heightening and embellishing reality. The artist promises us clear skies as flawless as beauty adverts. Martyr’s painting technique is extraordinarily precise. His uncompromising process is hand painted and involves many stages to create flawless canvases.

Martyr’s skilled observation of line and shadow brings depth to the paintings, emphasizing the horizontal with simple symmetrical planes. Inspired by post-war Americana/Pop Art, Modernism, Italian Futurist and Russian 1930’s Posters, his paintings are reminiscent of holiday postcards. Titles such as ‘Stay Until Tomorrow’, ‘Where We Belong’ and ‘It’s Only Us’ advertise themes of an almost unattainable vitality and effortless chic.