Edward Martin – American Sculptor

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Edward James Martin was born on a small farm in Camden, Alabama, on September 13, 1931. His first conscious contact with art happened while he was a small boy watching his grandmother make quilts. He had many opportunities to study her work; his grandmother raised him into adulthood. Her designs consisted mostly of geometric shapes, which interested him.

Edward Martin’s formal education includes a Bachelor of Science degree from Tuskegee University (Alabama) in Industrial Arts and Design with a concentration in furniture building. After graduating, he served as a paratrooper in the US Army from 1953 to 1958, leaving active service as a First Lieutenant.

After leaving the army, Martin worked primarily as a furniture builder.  In 1959, he was the first African-American teacher hired by the Freeport School District on Long Island, where he taught industrial arts for 41 years. During that time he earned a Master’s Degree in Art from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. Later, he studied Fine Art at New York University.

In the late 1990s, Martin and his wife, Alma, spent summers in Pietrasanta, Italy, where he studied with master marble sculptor Rino Giannini. This experience directed Martin toward creating marble and wood masks in addition to his characteristic abstract geometric works.

Edward Martin moved on from making functional furniture to creating sculpture in the late 1960s when he began to feel constrained by the creative limitations of making furniture. He started carving wood with a solid piece on which he carved 12 figures who seem to be scholars. Martin subsequently began making marble sculptures, using Georgia marble in the early years.

Edward Martin was the recipient of countless awards and prizes. He exhibited his works in the Washington Square Outdoor Art Show in Greenwich Village every Memorial and Labor Day weekend for over 35 years and won many ribbons for First or Second in Show. He enjoyed the camaraderie with the many artists who gathered there year after year.

He was a member of the Woodstock Artists Association and Museum, where he exhibited his work. His sculptures are in many collections, including the Larry and Brenda Thompson Collection of African American Art. Martin was commissioned to create a sculpture for the United Church of Christ headquarters on Prospect Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio – a Vermont white-marble piece entitled Towel and Basin. This work is on display in the rotunda of the UCC headquarters.

Edward Martin died on May 2, 2013, following a short battle with cancer.

You can watch an Incite-TV interview on YouTube with Edward Martin at the 2010 Raleigh [NC] Art Expo:  Edward Martin Interview . The telephone number mentioned in the video is still a working number where his wife can be contacted. If the underlined link does not take you to the video, paste this into your browser bar – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JzA6ArjZSA&t=30s

ARTISTS’ STATEMENT: “Most of my later work is constructed in pieces of Georgia Marble (Etowah pink). Working in this type of marble, one has to pay strict attention to creating a sense of strength and at the same time embrace the aesthetic justification of the piece. Each of my pieces of sculpture is individual. I seem to feel more comfortable working with geometric shapes. The impact of each sculpture functions more directly as a commitment to the creative process.”