Robert Martin

ROBERT MARTIN was born in Wisconsin, USA in 1994. They earned their BFA from the University of Wisconsin-Stout (2017), and their MFA at the University of Colorado-Boulder (2021). Their paintings are a revisitation of the pastoral spaces they grew up in, and a documentation of the queerness which exists, but is perhaps not shown, within rural America.

Rurality having long been considered accommodating of conservatism and machismo attitude, it is important for Robert to talk about the ways in which queerness exists in these environments. Though it may be denied or ignored, it is observed, it is lived and thus it is the truth.

Martin finds profound connection with the natural world in moments that defy expectation, seeking to encapsulate these discoveries in their artwork. Influenced by their upbringing in the Catholic church, particularly drawn to its aesthetic elements, they explore the storytelling potential embedded within its art and architecture. The series of work they made for this exhibition mirrors the simplicity and narrative essence of the Stages of the Cross, distilling complex stories into essential vignettes.

Their work has been exhibited at EDJI Gallery (Brussels), The Valley (Taos, New Mexico), 1969 Gallery (New York, New York), Rule Gallery and Union Hall (Denver, Colorado), Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum (Wausau, Wisconsin), Munro Gallery at Albion College (Albion, Michigan), Galleries of Contemporary Art at UCCS (Colorado Springs, Colorado), among many others. Martin was awarded the New American Paintings Emerging Artist Grant in late 2021 and was a featured artist in the Denver Art Museum’s 2022 Untitled programming series. Their work is held in the permanent collection of the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, the Bill Arning gay collection, the Green Family Art Foundation, and in private collections worldwide. Martin currently lives and works in Appleton and Rusk County, Wisconsin.