Artist Statement

I started as a photographer, which was due to the fact that it allowed me to be an artist at all times, so long as I had a camera. It let me blend art and life. When I started focusing on sculpture, I wanted to do the same thing. I wanted to be an artist as much as possible by collecting materials throughout a day, working at odd times in a home studio, and with my kids as subjects and collaborators. I also react to and use the stuff around me: children’s art, toys, kitchen objects, boardgames, to-do lists, cakes, clocks, leftovers, vacuum-sealed bags and plastic drink cups were all starting points for recent pieces. I also like the effect of putting together visually disparate objects for a cluttered, domestic effect. I want everything to look different in style and material, which keeps me in a playful and experimental mode. I usually work in a small-scale, which keeps me feeling light. I also write poems, and they never exceed a page. As a dyslexic, I very much appreciate the short-form, compact nature of poetry. I keep an ongoing book called Gallery Copy in which I put sculptural things next to visual and experimental poems. If I have my act together maybe there will be copies here. Things in this show are both old and new, but I have a hard rule of only showing things one time. I once wondered what would happen if someone wanted to exhibit my art for a second time. Luckily, no one cares about my art so that problem has not yet come up.
More of my work can be seen at natmartin.org

Bio

Nat Martin’s work has appeared in many shows throughout New England. He has been a member of the Kingston Gallery since 2017. Martin received his B.A. from Skidmore College as an art history major, and earned his M.A. in Art History from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Martin has taught art history, darkroom photography and digital photography since 2000 and lives outside of Boston with his very creative wife and two kids.