Craig Martin

The thing I remember about showing at the gallery was how straight forward it all was – there was very little of the usual gallery politics and intellectual preening (“Look at me – I can bench press a year’s subscription to Art Forum”) – it was unusual judging by every other gallery experience I’ve had – I was in a band at the time (Cruel, Cruel Moon) and we played at the opening which was a lot of fun – we were more of a gallery band than a bar band for better or worse – I like to think people enjoyed themselves – I certainly did.

The work was minimal in format with a little bit of pop creeping in – I seem to have been working my way thru twentieth century art and at that point I was somewhere between 1950 and 1970 – lately I’ve been doing pen & ink drawings with a cartooning kiss – I switched gears so that the art thing would be totally new to me again – and it’s worked – I’m having a lot of fun – oh, and chronologically I’m somewhere between 1450 and the year 2000 – I just throw everything I like into the stew which I guess makes me post modern or something – but then aren’t we all?

Interestingly (to me anyway) I see the same themes popping up which suggests either I’m limited or I have an outlook – or maybe just an itch I keep scratching.

Anyway, good luck to Jean and the gallery – I think the down to earth with quality and eclecticism approach of the gallery is very much the way things should be but seldom are.

Craig Martin
December 2, 1994 – January 15, 1995
music by Cruel, Cruel, Moon