Phone: 319-631-0408
Email - martinek38@hotmail.com
Website: www.johnmartinek.com
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"Aeration" |
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"Our-Lady-of-Peace" |
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"Exhaust" |
In the early 21st century life seems to be moving in all directions at once. Information and ideas are wandering globally and combining within the cultures that they collide with. I have observed the result of this mixture and its mutations and hybrids while traveling and living abroad as well as within my own country. I seek to unify these interesting connections and observations within the format of my paintings, drawings, prints, and collages. Through the recombination and juxtaposition of life's strange phenomena, a bizarre harmony emerges, one that provides a sense of understanding between the familiar and the bewildering. These images are united in their attempt to blur the boundaries between different elements in our world to see what might lie behind initial appearances, to get a "clearer" picture of them.
This exhibition involves related work exploring 3 different themes. The first one involves exploring the manner in which violence affects us at a distance by attempting to create a connection between the original event and the viewer. The second combines a couple of clear elements within a small format in an attempt make a statement or express an observation, much like a one panel (cartoon). The third explores the way in which machines and development have allowed us to increase our capacity to grow and expand indefinitely by attempting to condense the connections between humans, plumbing, electrical wires, concrete, steel, and other "life support" systems. All of these images use recombination, mutations, and hybrids in an attempt to magnify, clarify, and explore the world around us.
John Martinek's drawings, paintings, prints, and collages have been exhibited in numerous venues, including solo shows at Grinnell College and the Baykus Gallery in Bursa, Turkey to name a few. Creating art, traveling, teaching, and writing are all important parts of Martinek's life and work. In 1999 Martinek taught printing as a visiting instructor at Grinnell College. From 1996 to 1999 he taught printmaking, drawing, and painting at Uludag University in Bursa, Turkey. In 1995 he studied for a month at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica di Venezia in Venice, Italy before embarking on a four month exploration of Europe, Morocco, and Turkey. During this journey he completed a large portfolio of ink and gouache landscape drawings. In 1994 he traveled for a month in Africa, visiting Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Mali, recording his experiences in writing and photographic work. Martinek has given public lectures in both the United States and in Turkey. He returns to Turkey almost every year to travel, explore, draw, and visit family.
Currently, Martinek resides in Coralville, Iowa with his wife Guldeniz Danisman Martinek. During the daytime he works with McDonough Structures as a cabinetmaker, finish carpenter, and furniture builder, and in the evening he paints and draws in his studio. To see more work on the web visit www.johnmartinek.com or www.mcdonoughstructures.com.
John Martinek was born in Metairie, Louisiana in 1968. He received his BA in art from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois in 1990. In 1996 he received his MFA in printmaking from the University of Iowa.