 Sladmore Contemporary
presents
Edouard Martinet
When Edouard Martinet was 10, one of his teachers introduced his
pupils to insects, but in a rather obsessive way. Subliminally, the
fascination sunk in to the young French boy. Fast-forward 40 years, and
Martinet has become the art world's virtuoso insectophile, transforming
bits and pieces of cast-off junk culled from flea markets and car boot
sales into exquisitely executed insect, fish and animal forms.
What sets Martinet's work apart is the brilliant formal clarity of his
sculptures, and their extraordinary elegance of articulation. His degree
of virtuosity is unique: he does not solder or weld parts. His sculptures
are screwed together. This gives his forms an extra level of visual
richness - but not in a way that merely conveys the dry precision
of, say, a watchmaker. There is an X-Factor here, a graceful wit, a
re-imagining of the obvious in which a beautifully finished object
glows not with perfection, but with character, with new life.
Martinet takes about a month to make a sculpture and will often
work on two or three pieces at the same time. It took him just
four weeks to make his first sculpture and 17 years for his
most recent completion! His next show at the Sladmore will be in the Autumn of 2013.
|