Bio

Jackson Martin was born on a commune in rural Tennessee in 1978. He received his BFA from Middle Tennessee State University in 2004 and earned his MFA from the Rinehart School of Sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2007. Martin exhibited regularly while living in Baltimore, MD at venues such as Area 405, the Maryland Art Place and continues to create work for the Baltimore Sculpture Project. He has also shown work at the Arlington Arts Center, Flashpoint in Washington, DC and conducted a piece of interactive art for the 11th Annual D.U.M.B.O. Art Under the Bridge Festival in Brooklyn, NY.  Martin recently exhibited at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts in Grand Rapids, MI and participated in Sculpture Key West 2010.  He has been featured in the itinerary section of Sculpture magazine both in 2008 and 2009 and was also an artist in residence at the Vermont Studio Center in 2008. Martin currently lives in Johnson City, TN with his wife and daughter and teaches in the Department of Art and Design at East Tennessee State University.

 

Artist's Statement

At the core of my work is a collaboration between the natural and the cultural. This meeting begins with my deliberate and calculated manipulation of industrial materials. I incorporate the permanence of steel, wood, glass and plastic, in order to represent my human propensity towards order and control. On the other side of this convergence exist the elements that are continually beyond my authority. I employ ephemeral materials, such as plants, dirt, water and light that represent the uncertain and unpredictable world around me. With these two material extremes, I construct frames, containers and enclosures in which the cultural elements attempt to hold and embrace the natural. Ultimately, these constructed situations are intended as portraits of human communication and interaction.

 

Resumé

 

Education          (View PDF) 

2007  MFA, Rinehart School of Sculpture, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Baltimore, MD

2004  BFA, Cum Laude, Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), Murfreesboro, TN

1997-99  Austin Peay State University (APSU), Clarksville, TN

 

Grants/Awards

2010  Instructional Development Grant, ETSU, Johnson City, TN

2010  Research & Development Grant, ETSU, Johnson City, TN

2009  Departmental Grant, Department of Art & Design, ETSU, Johnson City, TN

2007  Amalie Rothschild ’34 Rinehart Award, MICA, Baltimore, MD

2005-07  Maryland Institute College of Art Fellowship, MICA, Baltimore, MD

2004  John & Elva Griffin Art Scholarship, MTSU, Murfreesboro, TN

2004  Best of Show, Juried Student Art Show, MTSU, Murfreesboro, TN

 

Solo Exhibitions   

2011  

Salem Art Works, Salem, NY (forthcoming)

William King Museum, Abingdon, VA (forthcoming)

2010  

Time and Disregard, InSpace Gallery, Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, MI

2009 

Threshold, Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, LA 

2008 

Pioneers, Greenbelt Community Center Art Gallery, Greenbelt, MD

 

Selected Group Exhibitions

2010

ArtPrize, Gillette Bridge, Grand Rapids, MI (forthcoming)

Nature Rules, 28th Annual Outdoor Sculpture Show, Governor's Island, NY

Not in the Park, Gallery Hall, Tropic Cinema, Key West, FL

The Earth is Flat and Other Truths about the Environment, The Park School, Baltimore, MD

Sculpture Key West 2010, Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, Key West, FL

2009

Pending, Tipton Gallery, Johnson City, TN

Objects on the Horizon, Ewing Gallery, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN

Baltimore Sculpture Project, Mt. Royal Avenue, Baltimore, MD

Spctclr Vws, One Brooklyn Bridge Park, Brooklyn, NY

Sculpture Key West 2009, Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, Key West, FL

2008

Habitat, Rosenberg Gallery, Goucher College, Baltimore, MD

KY7 Biennial, Lexington Art League, Lexington, KY

Baltimore Sculpture Project, Patterson Park, Baltimore, MD

32nd Annual Baltimore Symphony Decorators’ Show House, Ruxton, MD

2007

11th Annual D.U.M.B.O. Art Under the Bridge Festival, Dumbo Arts Center (DAC), Brooklyn, NY 

Baltimore Sculpture Project, Mt. Royal Avenue, Baltimore, MD

Industrials, Randall Scott Gallery, Washington, DC

Anonymous III, WPA\C, Gallery at Flashpoint, Washington, DC

2006

Insight Out, curated by Twylene Moyer, managing editor of Sculpture magazine, Arlington Arts Center, Arlington, VA

Janus, curated by Sarah Tanguy, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD

 

Professional Experience

2009-11  Sculpture/Ceramic Technician, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN

2009  Juror, Annual Student Art Show, Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, LA

2007-09  Adjunct Instructor, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN

2006  Gallery Intern, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD

2005-07  Teaching Intern, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD

 

Visiting Artist

2009 

Guest Speaker, Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, LA

Guest Critic, Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, LA

2008

Guest Critic (fall), Senior Independent w/ Ledelle Moe, MICA, Baltimore, MD

Guest Critic (spring), Senior Independent w/ Ledelle Moe, MICA, Baltimore, MD

2007

Guest Critic, Senior Independent w/ Ledelle Moe, MICA, Baltimore, MD

Guest Critic, Senior Independent w/ Eve Andrée Laramée, MICA, Baltimore, MD

Guest Critic, GFA Junior Independent w/ Renee Rendine, MICA, Baltimore, MD

Guest Lecturer, 3-D Design, Harford Community College, Bel Air, MD

2006

Guest Critic, Post-Baccalaureate, MICA, Baltimore, MD

2004

Guest Speaker, Governor's School for the Arts, MTSU, Murfreesboro, TN

 

Artist In Residence

2008  Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT

2007  Hall Farm Center, Townshend, VT

 

Bibliography

2010

2009

Alison Gregor, “Like Art? You’ll Love Our Condos”, The New York Times, May 10. View Article

Christina Kee, “Sculpture Key West 2009”, ArtCritical.com, April 2009. View Article    

Itinerary Section, Sculpture magazine, Vol. 28, No. 2, March 2009. View Article

2008

Martin L. Johnson, “The War at Home”, The City Paper, December 10, 2008. View Article

Itinerary Section, Sculpture magazine, Vol. 27, No. 2, March 2008. View Article

2007

Paul Jeanes, "Size Matters", BmoreART, April 24, 2007. View Article

2006

Jessica Dawson, "Off-the-Wall Art in Arlington", Washington Post, October 28, 2006. View Article