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Art & Culture

A Conversation with Martyn Cross TRICI VENOLA / HAMID ZAVAREEI / JOHN POUND / MIKE SALISBURY

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JUXTAPOZ Volume One Number One Winter 2021 JUXTAPOZ IS PUBLISHED BY HIGH SPEED PRODUCTIONS, INC ©

PRESIDENT

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CR Stecyk III

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Sherry Apostol, Katherine Gates, Jack Germain, Nancy Hartman, Ron Madison, Judy Mcguire, Dick Pierce, John Smythe, Lou Stathis, Hope Urban, Beck Wilson, Ray Zone CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Kurt Wahlner, Ilona Lieberman, Gary Leonard, Bob Seidemann, Ed Simmons, Don Weinstein JUXTAPOZ (ISSN # 1077 - 8411) is published quarterly by High Speed Productions, Inc, 1303 Underwood Ave, San Francisco, CA 94124, under license from No Brow Incorporated, © 1994 High Speed Productions, Inc, Printed in USA, Editorial Offices may be reached at 1303 Underwood Ave, San Francisco, CA 94124: 415 822 3083; (fax) 415 822 8359. JUXTAPOZ welcomes editorial submissions, however return postage must accompany all unsolicited manuscripts, art, drawings and photographic materials. All letters will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright purposes and subject to JUXTAPOZ’s right to edit and comment editorially. All rights reserved on entire contents; nothing may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. Opinions expressed in articles are those of the author. Advertising inquiries should be directed to JUXTAPOZ, 1303 Underwood Ave, San Francisco, CA 94124; 415 822 3083; (fax) 415 822 8359 National Distribution; Kable News Company 212 768 1000 Subscriptions; US $14.40 (4 issues); Canada, $18.50; Foreign, $25.00 per year. Single copy, $3.95 (US); Canada, $4.95 Subscription rates given represent standard rate and should not be confused with special subscription rates given represented standard rate and should not be confused with special subscription offers advertised in the magazine. Change of address: Allow six weeks advance notice and send old address label along with your new address. POSTMASTER: Send

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CONTENTS TRICI VENOLA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Painting with a digital palette, Trici kicks out files. By Jack Germain.

ZAP #13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 The latest Zap was dedicated to Rick Griffin at la Luz de Jesus Gallery and the gang was all there. By Ray Zone.

WOULD YOU BUY ART FROM THIS MAN?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 John Pachna’s Zero One Gallery in LA has been a hub of underworld art activity for over 12 years. Report by hope Urban.

HAMID ZAVAREEI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Mild-mannered, self taught, expatriate Iranian painter. By Nancy Hartman.

VON DUTCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 The father of pin-stripping, custom paint jobs and flames on cars was also an accomplished machinist designer and pistol shot. By Craig Stecyk III JOHN POUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Garbage Pail Kids creator pumps out weird mix of humor and fantasy. By Ray Zone.

MIKE SALISBURY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 A personal portfolio of photographs by a man who has been around the clock a few times. By John scythe.

ED ROTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Godfather of custom car craziness and counterculture idol “Big Daddy is still going strong. By Craig Stecyk III EARTH HYMS: A CONVERSATION WITH MARTYN CROSS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Martyn Cross on life, art and his process. By Topher Shrigley.

MANUEL OCAMPO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 Fiery Filipino painter glorifies evil and destroys stylistic identity. By Sherry Apostol.

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Earth Hymns

A Conversation with Martyn Cross Ratio 3 // September 10, 2021 - October 30, 2021 Written by: Sasha Bogojev

There is a great deal of intimacy, mystery,

well as themes that occupy his mind.

curiosity, and intensity in the delicately

There were a number of artists we’ve

crafted works by Martyn Cross, whose

been obsessing over here at Juxtapoz,

first solo exhibition outside of the United

whose practice involves reworking the

Kingdom is currently running its final

same motifs time and time again. Cross

week at Ratio 3. Earth Hymns comprises

is certainly one of those, as his work

a substantial body of moody paintings

revolves around the few ideas that he

as well as works on paper, through

tends to experiment with. Through slight

which the Bristol-based artist explores

compositional changes, use of different

the technical aspects of his practice as

shades of earthy hues, and interchange

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of

elements

between

concepts,

his

Built from gentle caresses of a dry brush,

visuals keep changing and developing,

and using a stylized, almost drawing

basically living their own lives. The result

or

of such a process is an exceptionally

they feel like a selection of pages from

coherent body of work within which each

an ancient manuscript rather than a

image adds to the next one, and their

painting

reading correlates with the exposure to

surreal panoramas coming to life as

his oeuvre. To put it simply - the more

faces of stunned elders, and broken

you see, the more you connect with it.

figures

And during that process, each individual

with their giant bodies. Probably hiding

painting goes through a number of

a great, profound message behind the

phases and changes, resulting with a

assortments of symbols and forms, they

precious appearance of a finished piece.

seem to invite the viewer to go through

even

text

writing-like

exhibition.

forming

approach,

Anthropomorphic

peculiar

landscapes

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and place and feeds on our minds and memories. Whilst the exhibition certainly isn’t about Lanny specifically, it chimed with the themes I’m currently exploring in my paintings and the idea that we are just mud with eyeballs and feelings. I guess in some ways I see each painting as a song and together the exhibition forms a choir.

Can you tell me a bit about the technical them over and over again, until some sort

aspect of your work and what draws you

of narrative might start revealing itself.

towards creating such intricate surfaces?

As instant fans of the work but not quite

“ I see the paintings

certain about what we’re looking at, we got in touch with Cross and had a brief conversation about this particular body of work and what led to the process.

Sasha : What’s the idea behind the title of the show and is your overall body of work connected in that direction?

Martyn Cross: The title Earth Hymns suggested itself after re-reading Max Porter’s novel Lanny. One of the main characters Dead Papa Toothwort isn’t actually a human, he’s more a living thing that is nothing and everything all at once he’s phlegmy globs of litter, oozing sticky tar and the sting of a nettle. He spans time 6

equally as objects as much as I do paintings.

They are things that in their creation are held and caressed and physically roughedup, all with the intention of creating some kind of surface history.

“

It’s also important for me to make

trainers - I prefer my kicks well-worn.

the canvases from scratch to imbue

What sort of influences inform your

them

practice and how do you work around

with

before

even

my

own

physicality

starting

to

paint.

that

initial

moment

of

inspiration?

What about the paint application and

Influences come from anywhere and

manipulation

images

everywhere, although my predilections

feel very frail yet part of the canvas..

evolve and mutate over time and I’ll

The paint itself is applied with a dry brush

naturally succumb to certain obsessions.

and layers form before I then bother

The works in Earth Hymns are channelled

the

sandpaper

from a range of sources: medieval wall

and other dangerous looking tools. In

paintings, gargoyles, emojis, the Happy

the end I want the surface to hum or

Mondays… But predominantly the thing

vibrate. I like things that look as if they’ve

that usually kick-starts it all will be reading

seen a life. Some people like box-fresh

works of fiction. The way an author

surface

process?

further

The

with

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