Awareness Post- Martin Wittfooth
- Dec 11, 2024
- 3 min read
Martin Wittfooth, born in 1981 in Toronto, Ontario, graduated from the School of Visual Arts, NY in 2008. In his highly detailed oil paintings, he often focuses on allegory and symbolism to convey themes of the intersection and clash of nature and industry. He also explores the different effects human influences have on the environment. While his work is highly realistic and detailed, he adds depth and interest to his pieces by adding surreal or unusual elements. The highly detailed, fine painting creates a sense of majesty, but the unexpected elements truly draw your eye. The unusual elements of his pieces, like the dead body in Requiem or the trinkets spilling out of the bird's stomach in Pandora. His works truly question different aspects of humanity and how we, as people, affect the nature around us by creating these seemingly odd scenes with animals.
I enjoy the style and movement in his work, along with using animals to symbolize and convey different ideas. I love how he is specifically looking at human influence on nature and conveying that idea through animals. I find this similar to my work in the idea of using animals in a surreal or unusual sense to convey the idea behind the work. I can learn a lot from the interesting composition and lighting he uses, especially in Requiem, where he uses direct lighting from a candle along with some sort of lighting from an outside source. I really like the idea of conveying the effects of human nature on actual nature, and I might try to experiment with that in one of my future pieces
Martin Wittfooth's work has been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide, including, but not limited to, the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, The Bristol Museum, and La Halle Saint-Pierre in Paris. Along with having solo exhibitions in a multitude of cities, including New York and L.A., his paintings have appeared in numerous publications like the New York Times.
Learn more on his website: https://www.martinwittfooth.com/
CV:
Solo Shows
2024 Koti, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark (Scheduled)
2022 The Plasticene Era, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark
2019 Untitled, State University of New York Ulster, Stone Ridge, NY
2018 Domestic Katabasis, Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2016 The Archaic Revival, Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2015 Offering, Jonathan LeVine Gallery, New York, NY
2014 De Anima, Roq La Rue Gallery, Seattle, WA
2012 Empire, Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2011 The Passions, Lyons Wier Gallery, New York, NY
2010 Gardens, Roq la Rue Gallery, Seattle, WA
2009 Babylon, Galerie d'art Yves Laroche, Montreal, QC
2008 Sandcastles in the Tide, Copro Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2006 Melting Season, La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Selected Recent Group Shows
2023
Art Herning 2023, Gallery Poulsen, Denmark
2022
Art Miami 2022, Gallery Poulsen, Miami, FL
Lost in Translation – New Art From New York and Other Places part XIII, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Art Herning 2022, Gallery Poulsen, Denmark Gallery Poulsen’s Winter Salon, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark
2021
The Intouchables New Art from New York and Other Places, Part XII, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark
New World Disorder (3-person exhibition), Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark
2020
CHANGE, permanent exhibition on board the National Geographic ship “Endurance”, Norway Apocalypse Now, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Comments