Moyosore Martins—Contemporary Artist

MOYOSORE MARTINS

WORKS FROM

2016-2021

Moyosore Martins exhalts the tradition of the Abstract Expressionist painters—the beginning.

Figurative and conceptualist elements then take the stage. Hatching, hard-handed distress brings the work together in harmony and depth— Moyosore’s own total.

— Asher Edelman

Moyosore in his Bronx, NY studio, 2022 Photo by Daniella Liguori © 2022

Path Gallery Los Angeles, CA 2021

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Moyosore Martins’ Bronx Studio 2022

Moyosore Martins Biography

Raised in Lagos, Nigeria by a Brazilian father and a Nigerian mother from Ekiti state, Moyosore Martins is a self-taught mixed-media contemporary artist who picked up a paintbrush and pencil at a young age to fuel his innately curious and spiritual nature.

Moyosore Martins’ artistic expression is narrative by nature, combining figurative and abstraction and inspired by his unique and personal human experience. His bold brushstrokes, drawings, scribbles, layering of materials in appliqué, and use of text and messaging are obscured within each painting and symbolize the spiritual elements from protection and wishes fulfilled. Martins also works in three-dimensional form with clay sculpture. Moyosore Martins’ unique symbolic work brings his traditional Yoruba cultural roots and contemporary vision of art to the forefront.

My artwork is intentionally raw. I like to use a lot of different materials and have roughcut edges on the canvas to create a feeling of authenticity. They are textured with scratches, scribbles, and mud-like paint, as well as clay, liquid plastic, oil sticks, chunky layers of oil paint. I layer the backgrounds and then deconstruct them, which gives the feeling of wear and tear on the canvas. No painting is alike as they each have symbolic patterns and encrypted messages hidden within them. I want to merge the vision with the given and to the new world that I live in now. The word ‘Why?’ is seen in a lot of the work because it leaves you asking the same question. —Moyosore Martins Starting in childhood, Martins needed an outlet for the intense dreams he would experience. He turned to creativity as a way to understand his dreams, filling the margins of his school notebooks with doodles and drawings. The discovery of these musings by Martins’ father, who forbade him to create or study art, drew severe punishment that foreshadowed the nature of Martins’ work. With a desire for the freedom to focus on his art and career, Martins immigrated to New York City in 2015 to develop his distinct artistic style with great seriousness and fervor. Today, he exclusively eats, drinks, and breathes art. The streets of London, New York, and his college years in Ghana and the Ivory Coast are blended in his artwork to showcase all that is Moyosore Martins.’

EXHIBITIONS 2022 2021 2021 2021 2021 2019 2018 2017

Forthcoming Solo Exhibition: Long-Sharp Gallery, Indiannapolis (Fall 2022) Nassau County Museum, Songs Without Words: The Art of Music | Roslyn, NY Path Gallery | Los Angeles, CA Long-Sharp Gallery/ Conrad Indianapolis, Featured Artist TrafficArts | New York, NY Dacia Gallery, Holiday Group Exhibition | New York, NY Heath Gallery | New York, NY Grady Alexis Gallery, Art United Presents: Radical Resistance to Xenophobia | New York, NY

PUBLICATIONS 2021 Forbes—Artist Feature Asher Gottesman Podcast, Apple Moyosore Martins Shows up to Paint Office Magazine Moyosore Martins, Exploring Nostalgia Portray Magazine—Artist Feature ART Daily Moyosore Martins opens Exhibition a Path Galleries

2019 Forbes—Artist Feature 2017 Asiri Magazine Moyosore Martins, Creating Cultural Tradition Spiritual Pathways

www.moyosoremartins.com Instagram: @moysoremartins1910 www.traffic-nyc.com/artists/moyosore-martins

Moyosore Martins’ 110th Street, Harlem, NY 2019

“Eleda” depicts an elderly man endowed in a Yoruba King’s ensemble. This painting is part of the Yoruba concept of the human being. The “Eleda” is one of three aspects meaning, “The Guardian Soul.”

Eleda 2016 Mixed on Canvas 48 X 36 in. (120 x 90 cm)

Culture is a Quadriptych that is a representation of Martins’ dedication and sacrifice to become an artist, best described by him as a “do or die affair, when I knew there was no going back.’’ A very personal body of work as this is his very first painting after arriving in New York.

Each painting in this group tells the story of the artist and his journey of coming to the west and becoming a full-time artist. Expressed through his culture lens, but never limited to that perspective. “That’s me moving to the USA, the culture shock, embracing the culture, finding who I am as a person, identifying my gifts and embarking on my journey without fear. Knowing that, yes, I’m going to fail, but there’s no looking back.”

The color tones and patterns of the backgrounds unify the group. Martins’ unique brushstrokes define the perception of multiple dimensions. Slashed paint and drips, the incorporation of real textures using ancient cowrie shells, African beads and torn canvas, allow him to tell his story and express the deep spiritual meaning of the sacrifices from his Yoruba culture.

Culture (Quadriptych) 2016 Mixed Media on Canvas Each 48 x 36 in. (120 x 90 cm)

An early work, “Glory” embodies Martins’ sacrifice of leaving home, in Lagos, Africa and the struggles of a 9-5pm job to become a full-time artist in NYC after recognizing and embracing his true calling. The foreground of the painting depicts a male figure who is presenting himself in a humbled expression, with a green gift in his hands. Located in what seems to be a natural shrine in a jungle that houses sculptures and carvings of various scales, also serves as the background of the painting.

Glory 2016 Oil on Canvas 60 x 48 in. (150 x 120 cm)

This piece is a glimpse into Martins immersive and artistic mind and visual storytelling. The work transcends from multiple thoughts that are embodied in one piece, creating a wholly inclusive painting that is deeply infused with Moyo’s emotion, personal history, and memory.

A large-scale canvas extensively detailed with a muddy pallet of oil paint on linen—this grungy camouflage of hues blending together. The symbols of life are fully embraced from both the earth and spirituality.

1 % signifies the juxtaposition of the work and experience to the 1 % of population who may buy this painting.

ONE % 2017 Oil on Canvas 65 x 130 in. (162.5 x 325 cm)

Untitled 2017 Oil on Canvas 48 x 48 in. (120 x 120 cm)

A study of a Yoruba statue, painted with layers or red oil paint that transcends to a lush terra-cotta. The original purpose of the object was a stool. It depicts a human carrying the seating surface over its head while kneeling on another horizontal surface, which is the base of the stool. The traditional pieces are carved from a single block of wood by Yoruban craftsmen and artisans. Martins illustrates the object in this piece, with a simplicity and the same essence and motions of a sculptor, using one stroke to identify one or more surfaces or dimensions. “Africa is grunge and beautiful combined.”

Dogon 2019 Oil on Canvas 65 x 53 in. (162.5 x 132.5 cm)

Bright colored brushstrokes combined with collaged leather pieces, balls of yarn and material hang independently from the piece. The title means mixture. Infusing his personal iconography such as the all seeing eye, which you will find in much of his work. The combing of all of these elements Moyosore arrives at a harmony among family, animals and culture.

Adalu 2018 Oil on Canvas, Mixed Media, Collage 65 x 95 in. (162.5 x 237.5 cm)

Adalu 2018 Detail

The painting, “Watchman,” is a study of a Yoruba artifact, which in its essence and purpose is loosely defined as a watchman. A watchman, in Yoruba culture, is someone or something that is placed in household spaces for security, protection, peace, blessings, good luck and to drive away negative energies. Martins gets his inspiration from a spiritual vision and the result is a verse of expressions and thoughts that follow.

The painting combines Martins’ signature abstract expressionist brushstroke and palette of color, textures and details in juxtaposition to the more studied artifact. The details in the background are embedded with coded icons from Yoruba culture, words, scribbles, and scratches.

Martins worked as a night watchman when he first arrived in NY. This was a difficult period, one with great struggle and poverty. The work was a dystopia of experience and made a significant impression on the artist. This painting is inspired by that experience as well as the spirit of the proud African man he is.

Watchman 2018 Oil on Canvas 60 x 48 in. (150 x 120 cm)

Private Collection

MAMA Jesu 2021 Oil on board 40 x 30 in. (100 x 75 cm)

Erin Ayo (Laugh of Joy)

2019 Oil on Canvas 64 x 44 in.

Collection of Donnalyn Patakos

Left page top: The Mix (Show me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are) 2019 Oil, UV Oil Stick, Pigment on Canvas 61 x 85 in. (152.5 x 212.5 cm) Private Collection Left page bottom: Ashe Po 2018 Oil on Canvas 65 x 72 (162.5 x 180 cm)

Collection of Rhonda Long-Sharp

Memories from childhood.

Ring Around the Rose 2019 Oil on Canvas 65 x 78 in. (162.5 x 195 cm)

A study of an ancient Yoruban sculpture, Martins approaches this painting like a sculpture using one stroke to illustrate and identify the objects. The figure, vertical by nature, is scaled to fill the entire canvas, giving homage to the importance of the object. Two small figures at the bottom hold up the great weight and responsibility of the world above. A regal horsed man with the staff, and above him, a woman on her knees with an offering in a bowl.

What is the meaning of this? Purposeful cultural and tribal iconography have spiritual meaning and give power to the visual tension.

Untitled 2019 Oil on Canvas 65 x 55 in. (162.5 x 137.5 cm)

Reflections

2019 Oil on Canvas 65 x 45 in. (162.5 x 112.5 cm)

The Chosen Ones 2019v Oil on Canvas 77 X 64 in. (192.5 x 160 cm)

Lekki 2021 Oil on Canvas 73 x 64 in. (182.5 x 160 cm)

Martins worked steadily through the 2020 pandemic. This large scale work on canvas represents the fear he was experiencing.

He was troubled about a lack of money and the need to buy milk and food for his child. In Harlem there was an extreme shortage of rice and toilet paper.

As is typical in his work you see the repetition of words which are like a mantra and a prayer to bring these things to him.

The skeleton figures represent him and his family. In the center of the painting you see a lightening of color with a very small figure which could represent how small and alone he felt. You can feel his fear.

Pandemic 2020 Oil paint, oil stick, raw pigment, charcoal, oil pastels, and gold leaf on canvas 85 x 105 in. (212.5 x 262.5 cm)

Alaabo—”The Protector” 2021 9 x 8 x 16 in. (22.5 x 20 x 40 cm)

Presence 2021 Oil on Canvas 84 x 94 in. (210 x 235 cm)

The March 2021 Oil on Canvas Diptych 60 x 120 in.

(150 x 300 cm)

Harlem True Love Story 2021 Oil on Canvas Triptych 60 x 144 in. (150 x 360 cm)

Next page: Harlem True Love Story 2021 Oil on Canvas Triptych 60 x 144 in. (150 x 360 cm)

Érin-Ayo II (Laugh of Joy) 2021 Oil on Canvas, Oil Stick, and Collage 60 x 105 in. (150 x 262.5 cm)

Heavy Sometimes 2021 Oil on Canvas 77 x 84 in. (192.5 x 210 cm)

Igba Orin (Sounds of Time), 2021, Oil on Canvas, 60 x 96 in. (150 x 240 cm) Diptych

Reference to last page: The child becomes the man. It is customary the role of the musician that plays in the neighborhood passes on the tradition in the family. This is a childhood memory for Moyosore.

This work was featured in an exhibition entitled The Art of Music at the Nassau County Museum of Art in 2021/22.

“Life is just a market. This painting is about how people don’t think of their “end time.”

And they don’t prepare for it because we are so busy chasing dreams and creating memories. We are so in denial that we don’t want to plan for the end time. Before we get to that other side the way we leave our memories matters a lot. What people think of our memory means something. My dad was old when he had me. I grew up acting like an old man.

When he was dying I saw so many things, how he didn’t plan for many things and how he took so many things for granted. We need to plan for that exit. God will ask you, what was your impact, and you want to bring this to the other side with you. But we treat it with vanity.

In the end it’s simple. It’s one way in and one way out. Life is just a market.” —MM

Oja Ale II (The Market) 2021 Oil and oil stick on canvas 46 x 64 in. (115 x 160 cm)

“This artwork is about the big picture of the journey of love and support. About the woman being there for the man through his beginnings. The sacrifice, love and devotion, and now through the path of freedom—happiness and success.” —Moyosore Martins

Just Us II, 2022 Oil, oil stick, acrylic, pigment, pigmented wax and charcoal on canvas 78 x 60 in. (195 x 150 cm)

Just Us II, 2022 Oil, oil stick, acrylic, pigment, pigmented wax and charcoal on canvas 78 x 60 in. (195 x 150 cm)

Right: Study for Frequency 2022 Oil, pigment, collage, aerosole paint, acrylic, pencil, liquid plastic, and charcoal on canvas 30 x 30 in. (75 x 75 cm)

Frequency

2022 Oil, oil stick, pigments, acrylic, and charcoal on canvas 72 x 60 in. (180 x 150 cm)

This painting represents a “blissful realization.” The inspiration behind it is when one is wanting so many things and trying to choose which is the most important, kind of like an obsession of “want.” Putting too much effort on one thing—this is an evocation of the bliss when all the pieces come together. Finally, when all the things you are working for all come together—and this is “As it Should Be.” —Moyosore Martins

As It Should Be 2022 Oil, oil stick, pigment, and charcoal on canvas A Polyptych 48 x 60 in. (120 x 150 cm) Total size 96 x 120 (240 x 300 cm)

UNTITILED (Female) 2022 Oil on canvas 40 x 30 in. (100 x 75 cm)

UNTITILED (Male) 2022 Oil on canvas 40 x 30 in. (100 x 75 cm)

Through My Very Own Eyes, 2021, Oil on Canvas, Mixed Media, Collage, 60 x 96 in. (150 x 240 cm)

(Front)

EGO II 2021 Mixed media on plexiglass (Oil, oil stick, pigments, ink, graphite, and collage) Painted on both sides 52 x 50 in. (130 x 125 cm)

(Back)

STUDY I (above) and II (right) 2022 Oil, oil stick, on canvas 60 X 48 in. (150 x 120 cm)

ARTIST BLOCK 2022 Oil, oil stick, acrylic, and charcoal on canvas 70 x 70 in. (175 x 175 cm)

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