Etienne Martin

Intensity of gaze, desire to learn and experiment, passion for his art, thirst for life and justice, open-mindedness towards the world and change, these words briefly describe Étienne Martin.

Early on, he is influenced by his father, a printer, and his mother, a teacher and painter. At a very young age, he develops a sense of stroke and color and already, in childhood, his artwork draws attention.

Disappointed with the academic rigidity of institutions, he chooses the world as a learning place and begins his quest for beauty.

At age 20, wanting to investigate his French and Spanish roots, Martin travels to France to harvest grapes. However, once there, he feels less attached to the land than he does to the people and culture. The art and history, present in the smallest village, awe him and appeal to his curiosity.

His mind buzzing, he comes home knowing he must paint so as not to forget the images and memories that stir in his head. At the beginning, he uses anything and everything to experiment and explore. What he has previously learnt stimulates his canvass work. Martin uses whatever is at hand: paper, photos, magazines, old paint, etc.

During a certain period, he does a number of portraits: of Jesus in particular. Not that Étienne Martin is very religious, but because the figure symbolizes, for him, the depths of suffering. Then, he also amply uses the legendary image of Che Guevara; he views the man as a symbol of change. Moreover, inasmuch as Étienne Martin adheres to progressive values, and hopes for the birth of a more just society, he feels very close to the great revolutionary. He is fond of characters in which he perceives an immeasurable passion for a cause, whether they be Che or Picasso, another of his models, or other individuals that have marked history.

His work, at first strewn with symbols, recently attaches itself to evoking the places that have left their imprint, whether in France, Cuba or elsewhere. Mostly, he makes it a point of honor to visit each place he paints, wanting not only to preserve the images, but also the sounds, the smells and the life that throbs at the bend of each path. This is what makes an eternal traveler of Étienne Martin.

His travels are far from pointless, just look at his representations of Paris, New York, Havana, or even Sainte-Adèle (his hometown) vibrating under their overhead windows. One can only be attracted by the strength and light emanating from the canvas.

Étienne Martin is an accomplished painter; from his firm brushwork emerges color and luminosity resembling stained-glass work. This effect, specific to the artist, is obtained through a technique in which great strokes of black paint and ink are applied, giving the painting a distinctive perspective.

Despite his success, the painter considers that although there is an important sum of effort and tenacity in his work today, the evolution of his style and his technique is also in his words: "the result of a series of accidents, coincidences and fortuitous encounters" of which he took advantage.

Étienne Martin, who wagered on making art more approachable, says he feels satisfied because people show interest in his paintings and question him about his process.

However, onlookers beware: once you have seen them, you will not be able to dismiss the images of Étienne Martin's universe.

Michel Beauchamp