Lot 040
Untitled (Flower Pot)
EDDIE MARTINEZ (American, 1977)
2020
Oil, acrylic and spray paint on linen
190.5 x 167.6 cm
Estimate
TWD 9,500,000-14,000,000
HKD 2,334,000-3,440,000
USD 299,000-440,700
CNY 2,164,000-3,189,000
Sold Price
TWD 12,000,000
HKD 2,898,551
USD 370,370
CNY 2,690,583
Signature
Initialed upper left EM and dated 20
PROVENANCE
Perrotin, New York
PROVENANCE
Perrotin, New York
+ OVERVIEW
A maverick with a quiet and low-key sense of creativity, Eddie Martinez has captured the attention of many curators, agents and collectors. Art critics often describe Martinez's rich still life world as a "feast." If he had to define his style, he would describe it as "Messy explosions of Picassos ". He admires Picasso's high productivity, and courage to experiment with various media challenging the historical paintings. He constantly challenges himself, engaging in repeated studies of single compositions without indulging in the same style. Everything is fair game for his paintings—casual materials, expected and unexpected objects—all pieced together in his artwork. Painting is his daily routine, a record of life, embodying a contemporary cultural concept of "mix and match."
His works are collected by institutions such as the Yuz Museum in Shanghai, the Saatchi Collection in London, the Jumex Foundation in Latin America, the Davis Museum in the United States, and the Marciano Art Foundation in Los Angeles. He has held solo exhibitions in Taiwan, the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Korea, China, and other locations.
Eddie Martinez has been curious about painting since he was young, immersed in the prevalent graffiti culture of the American metropolis. Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, this artist was fascinated by graffiti art during his teenage years. His artwork created on canvas retains the rough and rebellious nature of street art, as well as the expressive style of bold lines and vibrant colors. Martinez navigates between representational and abstract styles, using oil paint, enamel, and spray paint in his creations. He often incorporates found objects into his artwork. He is also a skilled draftsman and painter, as evidenced by his large-scale paintings: vibrant and intuitively colorful strokes roam freely on the canvas, while the artist's swift strokes exude a semi-automatic, intuitive creative attitude.
Despite the vibrant and wild nature of Martinez's style, his artworks possess an inherent understanding of aesthetic balance. He attributes this understanding to instinct, stating, "It’s completely instinctual. I don’t know color theory, and I’m not concerned if I’m doing it right or if I’m doing it wrong. It’s just the way I do it." Despite not having formal training, Martinez's art has its context and can be considered self-taught.
Inspired by popular culture, his early works tended towards violent imagery and a frantic comic book style, featuring characters with shiny large eyes, animals, clowns, skulls, and graffiti-like improvisations reminiscent of whitewashed walls, all encapsulating urban culture. He later transitioned towards abstract painting. Critics believe his art belongs to street art, characterized by a collage style, reminiscent of the traditional classics of the 1950s, such as Pop Art, Performance Art, Abstract Expressionism, and the Cobra Movement, creating a grand mix.
Since the early stage of his career, Eddie Martinez has always loved to paint potted flowers. From complex to simple, Martinez’s paintings walk us through his life experience and state of maturity at different ages. The artwork “Untitled (Flower Pot)”uses a large swath of black paint as the background, with vibrant lines and delicate color handling highlighting the colorful flowers in the vase, portraying their vitality and exuberance. The exaggerated proportions of the flowers and leaves, lively and somewhat cartoonish in appearance, exude a spirit of street graffiti and a romantic sentimentality of sensibility and innocence.
His works are collected by institutions such as the Yuz Museum in Shanghai, the Saatchi Collection in London, the Jumex Foundation in Latin America, the Davis Museum in the United States, and the Marciano Art Foundation in Los Angeles. He has held solo exhibitions in Taiwan, the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Korea, China, and other locations.
Eddie Martinez has been curious about painting since he was young, immersed in the prevalent graffiti culture of the American metropolis. Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, this artist was fascinated by graffiti art during his teenage years. His artwork created on canvas retains the rough and rebellious nature of street art, as well as the expressive style of bold lines and vibrant colors. Martinez navigates between representational and abstract styles, using oil paint, enamel, and spray paint in his creations. He often incorporates found objects into his artwork. He is also a skilled draftsman and painter, as evidenced by his large-scale paintings: vibrant and intuitively colorful strokes roam freely on the canvas, while the artist's swift strokes exude a semi-automatic, intuitive creative attitude.
Despite the vibrant and wild nature of Martinez's style, his artworks possess an inherent understanding of aesthetic balance. He attributes this understanding to instinct, stating, "It’s completely instinctual. I don’t know color theory, and I’m not concerned if I’m doing it right or if I’m doing it wrong. It’s just the way I do it." Despite not having formal training, Martinez's art has its context and can be considered self-taught.
Inspired by popular culture, his early works tended towards violent imagery and a frantic comic book style, featuring characters with shiny large eyes, animals, clowns, skulls, and graffiti-like improvisations reminiscent of whitewashed walls, all encapsulating urban culture. He later transitioned towards abstract painting. Critics believe his art belongs to street art, characterized by a collage style, reminiscent of the traditional classics of the 1950s, such as Pop Art, Performance Art, Abstract Expressionism, and the Cobra Movement, creating a grand mix.
Since the early stage of his career, Eddie Martinez has always loved to paint potted flowers. From complex to simple, Martinez’s paintings walk us through his life experience and state of maturity at different ages. The artwork “Untitled (Flower Pot)”uses a large swath of black paint as the background, with vibrant lines and delicate color handling highlighting the colorful flowers in the vase, portraying their vitality and exuberance. The exaggerated proportions of the flowers and leaves, lively and somewhat cartoonish in appearance, exude a spirit of street graffiti and a romantic sentimentality of sensibility and innocence.
Related Info
Modern & Contemporary Art
Ravenel Spring Auction 2024 Taipei
Sunday, June 2, 2024, 2:00pm