Dates: November 30, 2006 – January 13, 2007
Opening Reception: Thursday, November 30, 6 – 8 pm
Hours of Operation: Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm
On Thursday November 30th Betty Cuningham Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition for the photographer Edgar Martins. This is his first exhibition in the USA.
Edgar Martins, who is Portuguese by birth, grew up in Macau, China and currently lives in the Midlands, England. He completed an MA in Photography & Fine Art at the Royal College of Art following a BA (Hons) in Photography & Social Sciences at the University of the Arts, London.
In June 2006 a limited edition monograph of Martin’s work, The Diminishing Present, was published by Moth House in London. Our exhibition features work from the two series The Accidental Theorist and Dystopia, which are included in the Moth House publication. The gallery will be making available a limited number of the books.
The two series are distinct both visually and in intent. Dystopia (c-type prints, 35 3/8 x 44 7/8 inches, edition of 5) was shot in the immediate aftermath of the forest fires that ravaged Portugal in 2005 and has strong political/ecological concerns. The Accidental Theorist (c-type prints, 26 x 32 5/8 inches, edition of 5), also shot in Portugal, takes place on the beach at night and poises on the edge of abstraction. The two series have in common a surreal quality perhaps generated by an almost complete absence of a human presence.
Awards include the Jerwood Photography Award and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Grant for Art Award. Collections include the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, the Orient Foundation, Macau, China, and major public collections in Portugal. His work has been shown extensively throughout Europe, as well as in China.
An article on The Accidental Theorist is featured in the current issue of Aperture Magazine. Aperture is also scheduled to publish a book on Edgar Martins.
Click below for full press release.