EDDIE MARTINEZ WHISTLES WHILE HE WORKS

Eddie Martinez Whistles While He Works | “New York Close Up” | Art21 from Art21 on Vimeo.

Eddie Martinez Whistles While He Works
How does it feel to start a new painting? Filmed in his Greenpoint, Brooklyn studio, artist Eddie Martinez
starts a large new painting while taking a break to walk his French bulldog Franny in his graffiti-clad neighborhood.
Surrounded by an abundance of recently completed paintings, Martinez refers to these compositions while working
on a new seven-by-ten foot canvas. Martinez uses black spray paint to make a quick sketch before introducing larger
fields of saturated color and developing a densely textured surface. Constantly moving and filling the studio’s silence
with his own whistling, he impatiently makes marks and scrapes off paint before it’s had a chance to dry. Equating his
very physical practice to that of a boxing ring, Martinez approaches his canvas like a fighter, rhythmically coming into
contact and then stepping back from his opponent. Under his pet Franny’s affectionate gaze, Martinez is satisfied by
the painting’s rapid progress at the end of the day, a testament to his ability to productively harness his anxiety and
aggression in the studio.

Eddie Martinez (b. 1977, Groton, Connecticut) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.