NEW/NOW: Shantell Martin

The NBMAA will present the work of Shantell Martin (b. 1980), one of the most versatile young artists working today, known for her exploration into the vast potential of the drawn line. Using an ink marker, she creates improvisational compositions with meandering lines and a recurring cast of characters, symbols, and messages that reflect a deeply rooted interest in identity—her own and also the viewer’s—as well as intersectionality, play, society, and culture. Martin’s signature black-and-white works reveal her personal mantra to “Draw on everything,” and comprise small personal sketches, monumental murals, live-drawing performances, and collaborations with high-fashion brands, engineers, and pop stars. Celebrating the span of Martin’s output, this will be the most extensive installation of the artist’s work, in both the time period and scope of media represented, as well as the artist's first career retrospective. Read more.

Artist Bio

Shantell Martin (b. 1980) uses an ink marker to create small personal sketches, large-scale murals, live drawings, and collaborations with artists and institutions including Kendrick Lamar, the New York City Ballet, Tiffany & Co., and Puma. She has exhibited at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, The Museum of the Moving Image, The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, and MoMA. Read more.

Related

Interview with Shantell Martin

Inspirations: NEW/NOW
Listen to a collection of tracks inspired by Shantell Martin's creative process.

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Related Programming 

Virtual Gallery Talk

November 4, 1-1:45 p.m.
Gallery talk led by Associate Curator Lisa Williams. Watch now.

Shantell Martin in Conversation with NBMAA Director & CEO Min Jung Kim

Thursday, October 22, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Marking the debut of her solo exhibition at the NBMAA, Martin will join NBMAA Director & CEO Min Jung Kim in conversation about the artist’s life, work, and first career retrospective at the museum. Learn more about the artist’s unique style, longstanding love of drawing, and her collaborations with some of today’s most celebrated fashion brands, engineers, and pop stars. Watch now.

Shantell Martin Live

October 13, 12:30-3
On October 13, watch Martin as she creates a monumental, one-of-a-kind live drawing in the Museum’s William and Bette Batchelor Gallery, where her forthcoming exhibition NEW/NOW: Shantell Martin will take place. Viewers can watch the artist’s dynamic and spontaneous process unfold in real time, as Martin’s 40 by 16 foot mural takes form.