Kai Peter Martin
Kai Peter Martin’s work uses a variety of drawing and painting techniques to address his
interest in the relationship between people and their environment, often combining
multiple perspectives into a complex pictorial space. Recent work incorporates a new
material—pigmented paper pulp plaster—that is used first to form the image sculpturally
and then as a surface for drawing and painting. A playful awareness of the artificiality of
images is balanced by an enthusiasm for the way they can shift our vision of the world.
Born in Austin, Martin received a BA in Painting from Reed College in Portland, Oregon
and an MFA in Drawing and Painting at the University of North Texas.
Statement
When I am composing a drawing or painting, I begin by working from many scattered images – images collected from my own archive as well as newspaper clippings, images from books, and film stills – and from these I invent an environment that alludes to real space but tips towards the irrational. Perspective is distorted, spaces are stacked on top of one another, the environment flattens out in places. Figures are drawn into the environment and develop connections, and when they collect in groups the relationships are tense and dissonant. The space they occupy is similarly discordant – certain areas give visual cues to spatial depth while others dissolve into marks on the surface. The final picture does not represent the physical world but is evocative of an irrational environment full of connections both latent and clear.
Though my process for composing a picture is largely intuitive, the content of my work is directed by two key interests. The first is my sense of the power and complexity of human relationships, both with each other and with the natural world. The second is my fascination with instabilities in both visual and linguistic modes of communication. Writing develops along with the imagery of my work in the initial stages, and fragments of text are sometimes included (though not always apparent) in the final piece as well. Working between the two modes – the pictorial and the linguistic – allows me opportunities to discover those slippery places I am after, where direct communication breaks down but new, unexpected possibilities spring up from its remains.
interest in the relationship between people and their environment, often combining
multiple perspectives into a complex pictorial space. Recent work incorporates a new
material—pigmented paper pulp plaster—that is used first to form the image sculpturally
and then as a surface for drawing and painting. A playful awareness of the artificiality of
images is balanced by an enthusiasm for the way they can shift our vision of the world.
Born in Austin, Martin received a BA in Painting from Reed College in Portland, Oregon
and an MFA in Drawing and Painting at the University of North Texas.
Statement
When I am composing a drawing or painting, I begin by working from many scattered images – images collected from my own archive as well as newspaper clippings, images from books, and film stills – and from these I invent an environment that alludes to real space but tips towards the irrational. Perspective is distorted, spaces are stacked on top of one another, the environment flattens out in places. Figures are drawn into the environment and develop connections, and when they collect in groups the relationships are tense and dissonant. The space they occupy is similarly discordant – certain areas give visual cues to spatial depth while others dissolve into marks on the surface. The final picture does not represent the physical world but is evocative of an irrational environment full of connections both latent and clear.
Though my process for composing a picture is largely intuitive, the content of my work is directed by two key interests. The first is my sense of the power and complexity of human relationships, both with each other and with the natural world. The second is my fascination with instabilities in both visual and linguistic modes of communication. Writing develops along with the imagery of my work in the initial stages, and fragments of text are sometimes included (though not always apparent) in the final piece as well. Working between the two modes – the pictorial and the linguistic – allows me opportunities to discover those slippery places I am after, where direct communication breaks down but new, unexpected possibilities spring up from its remains.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
2015MFA in Painting/Drawing, University of North Texas, Denton, TX
2002BA in Painting, Reed College, Portland, OR
Selected Exhibitions
2016F.L.A.T., Upstairs Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2015Solo Exhibition, Trespasser’s History: MFA Thesis Exhibition, University of North Texas Cora Stafford Gallery, Denton, TX
2015Student Expo, 500X, Dallas, TX, Curators: Susan Roth Romans and Jordan Roth
2014Solo Exhibition, Kai Peter Martin: Oblivion Moves, Cohn Drennan Contemporary, Dallas, TX
20145 to Watch, Ro2 at Visit Addison, Addison, TX
2014Chaos, Ro2 Gallery, Dallas, TX
2014MFA Showcase, UNT Artspace Dallas, Dallas, TX, Curators: Victoria DeCuir and Tracy Robertson
2014Agent Form, The Panhandle House, Denton, TX
2014Spring Graduate Invitational, University of North Texas Lightwell Gallery, Denton, TX, Curator: Ed Blackburn
2013Student Discount, 500X, Dallas, TX
2013Texas Transatlantic, Big Medium, Austin, TX, Curator: Kevin McNamee-Tweed
2013Fall Graduate Invitational, University of North Texas Lightwell Gallery, Denton, TX, Curators: Matthew Bourbon and Vincent Falsetta
2013Paint on Paper, Pump Project Art Complex, Austin, TX
2013Intersections, UNT on the Square, Denton, TX
2013Spring Graduate Invitational, University of North Texas Lightwell Gallery, Denton, TX, Curator: Robert Jessup
2012Two Person Exhibition, Anecdotal Evidence, Cohn Drennan Contemporary, Dallas, TX (with Colby Currie)
2012The Drawing Show, Pump Project Art Complex, Austin, TX
2010The Dark Between a Double Rainbow, Alternative Gallery, Seaside, CA
2007Elevated, Shady Tree Studios, Austin, TX
2006Upstairs Downstairs, Shady Tree Studios, Austin, TX
2002Johnny Rad, El Grande Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2002Thesis Exhibition, Reed College Gallery, Portland, OR
Awards and Scholarships
2015Outstanding Graduate Student in Studio Art, University of North Texas
2014Paul Voertman Graduate Scholarship, University of North Texas
2014UNT Library Artist’s Book Competition, First Prize
2013Student Project Award, University of North Texas
2013John D. Murchison Scholarship, University of North Texas
Teaching Experience
2015University of North Texas, Teaching Fellow, Intermediate Figure Drawing
University of North Texas, Teaching Fellow, Beginning Figure Drawing
2014University of North Texas, Teaching Fellow, Drawing 2
University of North Texas, Teaching Assistant, Drawing 1
University of North Texas, Teaching Assistant, Art Appreciation
2013University of North Texas, Teaching Assistant, Drawing 2
2015MFA in Painting/Drawing, University of North Texas, Denton, TX
2002BA in Painting, Reed College, Portland, OR
Selected Exhibitions
2016F.L.A.T., Upstairs Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2015Solo Exhibition, Trespasser’s History: MFA Thesis Exhibition, University of North Texas Cora Stafford Gallery, Denton, TX
2015Student Expo, 500X, Dallas, TX, Curators: Susan Roth Romans and Jordan Roth
2014Solo Exhibition, Kai Peter Martin: Oblivion Moves, Cohn Drennan Contemporary, Dallas, TX
20145 to Watch, Ro2 at Visit Addison, Addison, TX
2014Chaos, Ro2 Gallery, Dallas, TX
2014MFA Showcase, UNT Artspace Dallas, Dallas, TX, Curators: Victoria DeCuir and Tracy Robertson
2014Agent Form, The Panhandle House, Denton, TX
2014Spring Graduate Invitational, University of North Texas Lightwell Gallery, Denton, TX, Curator: Ed Blackburn
2013Student Discount, 500X, Dallas, TX
2013Texas Transatlantic, Big Medium, Austin, TX, Curator: Kevin McNamee-Tweed
2013Fall Graduate Invitational, University of North Texas Lightwell Gallery, Denton, TX, Curators: Matthew Bourbon and Vincent Falsetta
2013Paint on Paper, Pump Project Art Complex, Austin, TX
2013Intersections, UNT on the Square, Denton, TX
2013Spring Graduate Invitational, University of North Texas Lightwell Gallery, Denton, TX, Curator: Robert Jessup
2012Two Person Exhibition, Anecdotal Evidence, Cohn Drennan Contemporary, Dallas, TX (with Colby Currie)
2012The Drawing Show, Pump Project Art Complex, Austin, TX
2010The Dark Between a Double Rainbow, Alternative Gallery, Seaside, CA
2007Elevated, Shady Tree Studios, Austin, TX
2006Upstairs Downstairs, Shady Tree Studios, Austin, TX
2002Johnny Rad, El Grande Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2002Thesis Exhibition, Reed College Gallery, Portland, OR
Awards and Scholarships
2015Outstanding Graduate Student in Studio Art, University of North Texas
2014Paul Voertman Graduate Scholarship, University of North Texas
2014UNT Library Artist’s Book Competition, First Prize
2013Student Project Award, University of North Texas
2013John D. Murchison Scholarship, University of North Texas
Teaching Experience
2015University of North Texas, Teaching Fellow, Intermediate Figure Drawing
University of North Texas, Teaching Fellow, Beginning Figure Drawing
2014University of North Texas, Teaching Fellow, Drawing 2
University of North Texas, Teaching Assistant, Drawing 1
University of North Texas, Teaching Assistant, Art Appreciation
2013University of North Texas, Teaching Assistant, Drawing 2
