Eugene J. Martin | |
|---|---|
 Martin, self-portrait, 1990 | |
| Born | Eugene James Martin (1938-07-24)July 24, 1938 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Died | January 1, 2005(2005-01-01) (aged 66) Lafayette, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Education | Corcoran School of Art |
| Known for | Visual art |
Eugene James Martin (July 24, 1938 – January 1, 2005)was anAfrican-Americanvisual artist.
Eugene J. Martin's art is best known for his imaginative, complexmixed mediacollages onpaper, his often gently humorouspencil andpen and inkdrawings, and hispaintings on paper andcanvas that may incorporate whimsical allusions to animal, machine and structural imagery among areas of "pure", constructed,biomorphic, or disciplined lyricalabstraction. Martin called many of his works straddling both abstraction and representation "satirical abstracts".[1] He did not create sculptures.
Eugene James Martin was born onCapitol Hill,Washington, D.C. His parents were Margaret Helen Dove and James Walter Martin, an itinerantJazz musician. After his mother died in 1942 giving birth to Jerry Martin, the two brothers were placed infoster care in Washington, D.C. As a child, Eugene ran away on several occasions, was placed in reform school at six years of age, and eventually spent the remainder of his childhood on a farm inClarksburg, Maryland, where his foster parents were Franie and Madessa Snowdon.[2] On the farm he drewrealisticportraits and nature scenes, and also playedupright bass, thunder bass, andslide trombone in the localrhythm & blues bandThe Nu-tones. After attending Clarksburg Elementary, and Lincoln High and Carver High inRockville, Maryland, Martin pondered whether to become a full-timemusician or visual artist. He briefly attended theNavy for the opportunity to receive an art education, but instead washonorably discharged.After attending theCorcoran School of Art from 1960–1963, Eugene James Martin became a professionalfine artspainter, considering artistic integrity his only guide. He did not adhere to only a singleart movement, remaining anindividualist throughout his life. His art defies categorization.
While spending most of his life in Washington, D.C., Martin briefly lived inChapel Hill, North Carolina, from 1990–1994, returned to Washington, D.C., and in 1996 moved toLafayette, Louisiana, with his wife, Suzanne Fredericq, a biologist, whom he married in 1988. In December 2001 he suffered simultaneously abrain hemorrhage andstroke while inBelgium. After undergoingphysical therapy in Lafayette, Louisiana, he resumed painting and continued creating art until his death there.[3]
Eugene Martin's works of art can be found in numerous private art collections throughout the world, and are included in the permanent collection of theHigh Museum of Art inAtlanta, Georgia, theOgden Museum of Southern Art,New Orleans; theAlexandria Museum of Art,Louisiana; theStowitts Museum & Library inPacific Grove, California; theMunich Museum of Modern Art; theSchomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York; theMobile Museum of Art,Alabama; theWalter O. Evans Collection of African American Art inSavannah, Georgia; thePaul R. Jones Collection of African American Art at theUniversity of Delaware; theWalter Anderson Museum of Art inOcean Springs, Mississippi; theLouisiana State University Museum of Art in theShaw Center for the Arts inBaton Rouge, Louisiana; theMasur Museum of Art inMonroe, Louisiana; theSheldon Museum of Art inLincoln, Nebraska; and theOhr-O'Keefe Museum Of Art in Biloxi, Mississippi[4] The U.S. copyright representative for Eugene James Martin is theArtists Rights Society.[5] The Estate of Eugene James Martin is represented byGalerie Zlotowski inParis, France.
An exhibit "Beyond Black" featuringEd Clark, Eugene Martin andJohn T. Scott opened at the LSU Museum of Art,Shaw Center for the Arts, Baton Rouge, LA on Jan. 28-May 8, 2011.
