Jenny Martin

JENNY MARTIN studied at the University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh College of Art and graduated with an MA (Hons) Fine Art in 1996.  She continued her studies there and was awarded her MFA Postgraduate (Painting) in 1998.  She has recently explored printmaking and has brought together a series of works drawn from images gathered on travels.  Primarily based on trips to Pompeii and India, images from ancient civilisations hang alongside those of bustling market stalls, to form a body of work that aims to explore the different ways in which people leave signs of human activity. Faded frescoes of gardens and goddesses left on the walls of houses hidden for centuries contrast with the seemingly chaotic yet carefully ordered exuberance of Indian local markets. 

Since graduating, Jenny has exhibited her work in exhibitions in Scotland and London.

Aspect Prize Finalist  2005
The Fenton Arts Trust Award – Originals  2005
The Russell Trust Award – Visual Art Scotland 2005
Outstanding Print Award University of Aberystwyth – National Print Exhibition 2003
Frank Herring Award – Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour 2002
John Kinross Scholarship - Awarded by the Royal Scottish Academy 1997
DM Hall Painting Prize 1997
Andrew Grant Bequest Award for Printmaking - Edinburgh College of Art 1996
Andrew Grant Bequest Award for Drawing - Edinburgh College of Art 19942

Her publications include:
Fully Illustrated Catalogue Ewan Mundy Fine Art 2004
Crucial Colour The Artist Magazine December 2004
Artist Masterclass The Artist Magazine September 2003

“Illusion and reality, memory and fact are associations fundamental to my painting and printmaking.  Artefacts: painting; sculpture; jewellery; liturgical objects inspire me and acquire new significance and context in my work through their position and juxtaposition.  I choose the objects and images initially because I respond instinctively to their colour and aesthetic qualities.  However, I am also concerned with their meaning; past significance or use, or a kind of universal significance. 

The images are carefully chosen, but once in my paintings, they become mine.  These images are changed and manipulated; objects moved from one location to another, colour and atmosphere altered.  I aim to retain the meaning of the original and add my own voice through these changes.  I am not concerned that the viewer should necessarily understand the significance of how I am thinking when I make the work; I am happiest when they simply respond instinctively, just as I did when I first started”. 

If this page has opened without a navigation bar to the left, please click  Home