AiB Virtual Opening and Conversation with Amanda Martinez
Friday, April 10, 2020
Time Equities, Inc. Art-in-Buildings is pleased to present a virtual opening celebration for a new installation in the 50 West lobby by artist Amanda Martinez.
Amanda Martinez’s work explores the intersection of perception and reality, and our own desire to classify the objects that surround us. Martinez carves and assembles textured surfaces and sculptures from Styrofoam, a nontraditional art material, creating works that at first glance appear to be made from more traditional mediums like stone or wood. She treats the repetitive, monochromatic surfaces of each piece with different finishes, resulting in a complex tromp l’oeil effect that actively engages the viewer.
“My work stems from a formal interest in props and design, specifically the grey area where these objects blur with the traditional conversation of sculpture. Early experiences with music and performance drew me to set design and the idea of stand-ins, or objects that are meant to give the impression of being something else.”
For 50 West, Art-in-Buildings installed three works – Sister, 2018, Ladies’ Night, 2018, and Lovelorn, 2018 (pictured top to bottom) – that demonstrate the breadth of pattern, texture, and material Martinez explores in her practice.
Amanda Martinez lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Originally from Greenville, South Carolina, Martinez received her BFA from Kansas City Art Institute in 2010 where she studied both sculpture and painting. In 2019 Martinez had a solo exhibition at Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art in Nagoya, Japan as part of Aichi Triennale. Her work was recently shown at Egg Collective in New York, NY, Juxtapoz Showcase in Miami South Beach, FL, Underdonk, in Brooklyn, NY, Vacation in New York, NY, Spring/Break in New York, NY, Garis & Hahn in Los Angeles, CA, Dateline in Denver, CO, VICTORI + MO Gallery in New York, NY, N.A.D.A. NY with yours mine & ours Gallery. Martinez has received recent press in Surface Magazine, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Maake Magazine among other outlets.