Pushing the boundaries between the most sophisticated formalism and outsider art’s instinctive logic, Chris Martin makes abstract painting look enviably effortless. His large scale canvases reflect a zany approach to experimentation and a methodological mode of play, conceiving painting as something intrinsically haptic that resolves from an intimately hands-on negotiation of materials. Martin’s works are renowned for their extremely physical surfaces which are created by collaging found items onto the canvas. In Untitled, the painting’s texture is made from paper towels, newspaper, and acrylic gel – a thick paint-like substance resembling liquid plastic. Over-painting these with a bold graphic motif of a constellation network, Martin references the connective processes of making, placing his topsy-turvy rationale as a field of wonder and contemplation.

Martin often uses pop cultural references in his paintings, paying homage to his many influences from the fields of literature, film, and music. By making the sources of his inspiration the subject of his work, Martin shares the ‘behind the scenes’ processes of his practice, giving insight to an approach to abstraction which is informed as much by art history as contemporary media. In Memory of James Brown “Godfather of Soul” is a painting which took 2 years to complete; though Martin’s work often appears playfully spontaneous, this aesthetic is developed through prolonged reconsideration and reworking of the canvas, with some pieces taking as much as 20 years to finish. The black and white pattern, painted over a collage, resembles both vinyl LPs and an 60s op art – a movement whose revolutionary funkadelic stylings are a worthy tribute to Brown’s legacy.

Mother Popcorn takes its title from the James Brown hit which is considered to be one of the most pivotal tracks in the development of his distinctive funk sound. The text along the side of the painting: “James Brown Dances and Directs The Popcorn with the James Brown Band” (the title of Brown’s album) places Martin’s abstract motif as a stand in for pictorial narrative, the loud rhythmic pattern conveying the essence and energy of a live performance. Embedded in the surface is a 12” LP, its extreme texture and readily identifiable shape create a tactile sensation within the painting, giving the canvas a physical dynamic that extends beyond looking and taps into collective memory and experience.

Martin is often described as a genuine “artist’s artist”: his works are as much a celebration of creative experiment and discovery as they are exciting resolutions. Activating his studio as a ‘laboratory’, Martin’s compositions arise as visual intersections or collision points where the artist’s interests, experiences, and ideas converge. Martin’s crude style reflects his concept of painting as speculative ‘concoctions’, their casual and seductive appearance facilitating the appreciation of the intimacy of his practice. In Untitled Martin approaches painting through the devices of slapstick humour. Incorporating banana skins into the surface, he sets up his canvas as a slippery terrain of choreographed folly. Using grotty oranges, yellows, and greens against an oily black ground Martin configures his painting as an abject and spectacular universe, dotted by haloed white spots that dazzle with ‘best-effort’ glamour.