Firmly anchored in the Modernist practices of the gestural and monochrome, Jason Martin consistently challenges the definition of painting, creating intensely pigmented works with extraordinary sculptural qualities that bridge the two- and three-dimensional. The process-based formalism of Martin's approach reflects the influence of artists such as Robert Ryman, although he argues that 'the most interesting abstraction has a source of figuration [...] there is a warmth of figuration that I try to effect into the movements – gestures – that I make [on the canvas].'
In Martin's early works, while still a student at Goldsmiths in the 1990s, he manipulated striations of oil paint or acrylic gel on metal or Plexiglas grounds using a comb-like tool he created – a technique that he has refined throughout his career. This is used to create energetic ridges and furrows of pigment that can be read as extreme close-ups of a painterly brushstroke, drawing attention to the action and materiality of painting itself. His works are structurally varied, ranging from a thin glaze through which the metal ground gleams to sculptural reliefs with overlapping ridges and furrows. In the context of Martin's notion that landscape painting and abstraction are intertwined, his work becomes an imaginary space, a mental landscape, an abstracted and mesmeric focal point for contemplation.
Born in Jersey in the Channel Islands, Martin and lives and works between London and Portugal. He first came to prominence through his inclusion in the legendary 1997 exhibition Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, which established the Young British Artists (YBAs). In 2004, his work was included in the Monochrome exhibition at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, followed by major solo exhibitions at the CAC Málaga and Mönchehaus Museum, Goslar, Germany (2008); Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice (2009); and Museum gegenstandsfreier Kunst, Otterndorf, Germany (2016). A retrospective of his work from the past two decades was on view at SCHAUWERK Sindelfingen in 2017.
2022
Jason Martin: Convergence, Thaddaeus Ropac, Seoul, South Korea
2020
Jason Martin: Polychrome Futures, Buchmann Galerie, Berlin, Germany
2019
Jason Martin: Meta physical, STPI Creative Workshop & Gallery, Singapore
Jason Martin: Long Way Home, Lisson Gallery, London, UK
Jason Martin: Nostalgic for the present, Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland
2018
Jason Martin, Lisson Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Jason Martin: New Pigments, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
Jason Martin: Vertigo, Buchmann Galerie, Berlin, Germany
2017
Jason Martin, Lisson Gallery, London, UK
Works 1997- 2017, Schauwerk Sindelfingen, Sindelfingen, Germany
New Oils, Mimmo Scognamiglio artecontemporanea, Milan, Italy
2016
Counterfeit, L.A. Louver, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Jason Martin, Lisson Gallery, London, UK
Traction, Museum gegenstandsfreier Kunst, Otterndorf, Germany
Big Dark Oils, Pavilion 31, Centro Hospitalar Psiquiátrico de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
Jason Martin: SWEAR TO GOD, Pelaires Centre Cultural Contemporani, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
2014
Gestural Ubiquity, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
2013
Glasstres, White Light / White Heat, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
Jason Martin, Patrick de Brock, Knokke, Belgium
Scared Masters, Scared Monsters - Denizens of the Demonic Demagogue, Pearl Lam Galleries, Hong Kong
Serendipitia, L.A. Louver, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Furies Fury Forsaken, Patrick De Brock Gallery, Knokke-Zoute, Belgium
Patois, Sala Gaspar, Barcelona, Spain
Painting as Sculpture, Lisson Gallery, Milan, Italy
2011
Oils and Pigments, Galeria Javier López-Mário Sequeira, Madrid, Spain
Near By Far, L.A. Louver, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Pictures for Pleasure, Wetterling Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
2010
The Roaring Forties, The Fine Art Society, London, UK
Five Embossed Reliefs, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
New Works, Sala Pelaires, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Days Like These, Mimmo Scognamiglio artecontemporanea, Milan, Italy
2009
Jason Martin, Renwick Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Vigil, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy
Paintings and Drawings, Espace Jean Legendre, Compiègne, France
Luxe, Calme et Volupté, Wetterling Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
2008
Nomad, CAC Málaga, Malaga, Spain
Oceania, L.A. Louver, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Nomad, Es Baluard Museu d'Art Modern i Contemporani de Palma, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Rock, Centro Brasileiro Britânico, São Paulo, Brazil
2007
Jason Martin, CAC Málaga, Malaga, Spain
Atlas, Mimmo Scognamiglio artecontemporanea, Naples, Italy
For Gods Sake, Kunstverein Kreis Gütersloh, Gütersloh; Monchehaus Museum, Goslar, Germany; Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
2006
Nudes, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
Arcadia, Galeria Mário Sequeira, Braga, Portugal
2005
Jason Martin, CAC Málaga, Malaga, Spain
2004
Jason Martin: Day Paintings, Lisson Gallery, London, UK
Jason Martin, L.A. Louver, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2003
New Paintings, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
Jason Martin, Patrick de Brock Gallery, Knokke, Belgium
2002
Pink 001, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
2000
Jason Martin, Galleria Claudia Gian Ferrari, Milan, Italy
Jason Martin: New Work, L.A. Louver, Los Angeles, CA, USA
1999
Jason Martin, Lisson Gallery, London, UK
1998
Jason Martin, Städtische Galerie Nordhorn, Nordhorn, Germany
Jason Martin, Robert Miller Gallery, New York, NY, USA
1997
Jason Martin, Lisson Gallery, London, UK
Jason Martin, Kohji Ogura Gallery, Nagoya, Japan
1996
Jason Martin, Lisson Gallery, London, UK
2021
London Calling. British Art Today. From David Hockney to Idris Khan, Fundación Bancaja, Valencia, Spain
2020
30 Years in Paris, Thaddeaus Ropac, Paris Pantin, France
My House is Full of Mirrors, Mimmo Scognamiglio artecontemporanea, Milan, Italy
Group Exhibition, Lisson Gallery, Shanghai, China
Jingle Bells III, Patrick De Brock Gallery, Knokke, Belgium
Photosynthesis, Wetterling Gallery, Stockholm
45 at 45: L.A. Louver Celebrates 45 Years with 45 Artists, L.A. Louver, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2019
Group Show, L.A. Louver, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2018
La necesidad de lo infinito, Obras monocromas en la Collección olorVISUAL, CICUS, Centro de Iniciativas Culturales de la Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
De Calder à Koons, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France
Evolver, L.A. Louver, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Shaping Colour, L.A. Louver, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2017
2017 Summer Group Show, Mixografia Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Dark Deep Darkness and Splendor, Galerist Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
Mais Où Sont Les Neiges d`Antan?, Patrick de Brock Gallery, Knokke-Zoute, Belgium
Holiday Show, Mixografia Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Materialised Condition, Pearl Lam Galleries, Singapore
The Centre Cannot Hold, Near East, Istanbul, Turkey
Modulaciones, Pintura: 1898 – 2016, Sinaloa Art Museum, Sinaloa, Mexico
2016
Paper in Profile, Mixografia and Taller de Grafica Mexicana, Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, GA, USA
Billboard Projects, Pelaires Centre Cultural Contemporani, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Continuum, Vigo Gallery, London, UK
Modulaciones, Pintura: 1898 – 2016, Sinaloa Art Museum, Sinaloa, Mexico
2015
Touch, EMMA Espoo Musuem of Modern Art, Espoo, Finland
Precious: From Picasso to Jeff Koons, Jewellery by Artists, Vitraria Glass + A Museum, Venice, Italy
Jason Martin: Collaborations, Lisson Gallery & STPI Gallery, Singapore; Tyler Print Institute, Singapore
PEACEMINUSONE, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea
Collaborations, Mixografia, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Black: An Idea of Light, Cortesi Gallery, Lugano, Switzerland
The Monochrome Symphony, Artipelag, Gustavsberg, Sweden
Colleció Permanent, Es Baluard Museu d'Art Modern i Contemporani de Palma, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
20 Anni e poi, Mimmo Scognamiglio artecontemporanea, Milan, Italy
2014
Eurasia. A View on Painting, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
2013
Nostalgic for the Future, Centro Brasileiro Britânico, São Paulo, Brazil
Great Men Die Twice, Casa Da Cultura Da Comporta, Comporta; Mário Sequeira Gallery, Braga, Portugal
The Nature Of Abstraction, Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA, USA
Nostalgic for the Future, Lisson Gallery, London, UK
Glasstress: White Light / White Heat, 55th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy Song of Myself, Unosunove Arte Contemporanea, Rome, Italy Moving: Norman Foster On Art, Carré dʼArt Musée dʼart Contemporain de Nîmes, Nîmes, France Group Show, L.A. Louver, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2012
Le Monde Comme Volonté et Comme Papier Peint, Le Consortium, Dijon, France
Together We Connect, Anima Gallery, The Pearl, Doha, Qatar
The Materiality Of Paint, The Fine Art Society, London, UK
CARA DOMANI: Opere dalla collezione Ernesto Esposito, Museo d'Arte Moderna di Bologna (MAMbo), Bologna, Italy
Set, Centre Cultural Contemporani Pelaires, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Ululation, Vigo Gallery, London, UK
London Twelve / Contemporary British Art, City Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic
Jason Martin, Galerie Hervé van der Straeten, Paris, France
2011
Group Show 2011, Sala Pelaires, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Sixty Years of British Art, Bernard Jacobson Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2010
New Art Now, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Birmingham, UK
Cream, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland
Nice and Easy, Galeria Mário Sequeira, Braga, Portugal
Tondo, The Fine Art Society, London, UK
It Must be Abstract, Galleria Cardi, Milan, Italy
3 x 3, L.A. Louver Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Cheat Codes: Lessons in Love, Antena, Chicago, IL, USA
Arte Contemporanea Per Il Tempio di Zeus, Tempio della Concordia e Villa Aurea, Agrigento, Italy
The Schaufler Foundation, Sindelfingen, Germany
Inaugural Exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome (MACRO), Rome, Italy
No Lipstick, Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, UK
2009
In-Finitum, Fortuny Museum, Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, Venice, Italy
Artifici Contemporanei e Difformità Barocche, ARCOS, Museo D’Arte Contemporanea Sannio, Benevento, Italy
Group Show, L.A. Louver Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
PAISAJES CRUZADOS Miradas a la colección de Es Baluard, Es Baluard, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Antes de ayer y pasado mañana; o lo que puede ser pintura hoy, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Union Fenosa (MACUF), A Coruña, Spain
2008
Black and White, Gallery Kaare Berntsen, Oslo, Norway
Las Vegas Collects Contemporary, Las Vegas Art Museum, Las Vegas, NV, USA
AURUM: L'or dans l'art contemporain, Centre Pasquart, Biel, Switzerland
2007
Alan Charlton, Günther Förg, Jason Martin, Niele Toroni, Patrick de Brock Gallery, Knokke-Heist, Belgium
Art Futures, Bloomberg Space, London, UK
Painting in the Noughties, Letterkenny Arts Centre, Letterkenny, Ireland
Monochromed 2, The Fine Art Society, London, UK
Atlas, Mimmo Scognamiglio artecontemporanea, Naples, Italy
Beyond Sensation, Jersey Museum, Channel Islands
Whiteout, Fine Art Society, London, UK
2006
The Art of White, The Lowry, Salford Quays, London, UK
Monochromed, The Fine Art Society, London, UK
Inaugural Opening of New Wing, Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO, USA
Until it Makes Sense, Seventeen, London, UK; Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
Seven Rooms Seven Artists, L.A. Louver Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2005
14th Rome Quadriennale, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, Italy
Visioni 20 artisti a Sant’Agostino, Galleria Fumagalli, Bergamo, Italy
Extreme Abstraction, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY, USA
Skyshout – Painting after Painting, Auditorio de Galicia, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
2004
L’Ultima Cena (The Last Supper), Castel Dell’Ovo, Naples, Italy
Monochrome, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain
Painting as Process, Earl Lu Gallery, La Salle College of Arts, Singapore
2003
The Galleries Show, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
2002
Colour White, De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea, UK
2001
Group Show, Wetterling Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
A Shot in the Head, Lisson Gallery, London, UK
Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City, Mexico
British Abstract Painting 2001, Flowers East, London, UK
2000
Blue, New Gallery of Walsall, Walsall, UK
La painture des Martin, Musée d’ Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France
The Gulf Prize European Biennial of the Visual Arts, La Spezia, Italy
Century of Innocence - the Story of the White Monochrome, Rooseum, Centre for Contemporary Art in Malmö, Sweden
1999
Pictures for Pleasure (Twelve Artists Twelve Rooms), Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
Angesichts, Städttische Galerie Nordhorn, Nordhorn, Germany
Post-Hypnotic, University Galleries, New York, NY; The MAC, Dallas, TX; The Atlanta College Art Gallery, Atlanta, GA; The Chicago Cultural Centre, Chicago, IL; Tweed Museum, Dukuth, MN; University of Minnesota, MN; Massachusettes College of Art, Boston, MA; Naples Museum of Art, Naples, FL, USA
Postmark: An Abstract Effect, SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM, USA
Abstrakt, Max Gandoff Library, Salzburg, Austria
A Line in Painting, Gallery Fine, London, UK
Together: Artists in Support for the Homeless, The Passage House, London, UK
John Moores 21, Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art, Liverpool, UK
Painting Language, L.A. Louver, Los Angeles, CA, USA
1998
Short Stories, One In the Other Gallery, 1 Tenterground, London, UK
Natwest Art Prize 1998, Lothbury Gallery, London, UK
Tension, Robert Miller Gallery, New York, NY, USA
The Erotic Sublime, Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery, Salzburg, Austria
Small Works, Green on Red Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
1997
In Time, Galerie Le Sous-Sol, Paris, France
Finish, SpaceX Gallery, Exeter, UK
Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK; Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Germany; Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA
1996
Jerwood Painting Prize, Lethaby Galleries, Central St. Martins College of Art & Design, London, UK
About Vision: New British Painting in the 1990s, Museum of Modern Art, Oxford; Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh; Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich; Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle, UK
1995
From Here, Waddington Galleries and Karsten Schubert Gallery, London, UK
Real Art: A New Modernism - British Reflexive Painters in the 1990s, Southampton City Art Gallery, Southampton; Leeds City Art Gallery, Leeds, UK; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Postscript, Lisson Gallery, London, UK
Five Contemporary British Painters, Galerij S65, Aalst, Belgium
Four Paintings, PAP Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
1994
The Curator's Egg, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London, UK
Recent Painting, Lisson Gallery, London, UK
Surface Tensions, Curwen Gallery, London, UK
1993
Wonderful Life, Lisson Gallery, London, UK
The Schaufler Foundation, Sindelfingen, Germany
Paper in Profile, Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, GA
1992
Contemporary Artists, Feigen Incorporated, Chicago, IL, USA
Austria
Museum of Contemporary Art, Salzburg
Sammlung Essl, Klosterneuburg
Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna
Belgium
Lhoist Group Collection, Brussels
Finland
Saastamoinen Foundation, EMMA Museum, Espoo
Sara Hildén Museum, Tampere
France
French National Art Collection, Strasbourg
Le Fonds national d'art contemporain (FNAC), Paris
Germany
Kunsthalle Weishaupt, Ulm
Stadtische Gallerie, Nordhorn
The Schaufler Foundation, Sindelfingen
Würth Collection, Künzelsau
Sprengel Museum, Hannover
Italy
Camusac Museum of Contemporary Art, Cassino
Museum of Modern Art, La Spezia
Spain
Contemporary Art Centre CAC Málaga, Malaga
Es Baluard Museum, Palma, Mallorca
Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM), Valencia
Museo de Bellas Artes de Asturias, Oviedo
UK
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Birmingham
Deutsche Bank Collection
Government Art Collection
Jersey Museum, Jersey, Channel Islands
USA
Albright Knox Gallery, Buffalo, NY
Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.
1988
Sohen Ryu Tea Ceremony Foundation, Kamakura, Japan