(born in London in 1970)
Ghost, 2008, signed, dated, titled and inscribed on the reserve J. Martin 08, oil on aluminium, 225 x 150 x 10 cm

Provenance:
Galerie Ropac, Salzburg
Private Collection, North Rhine-Westphalia - acquired from the above in 2008

In Jason Martin’s works, oil paint is both the medium and a core component of the three-dimensional motif. In his pieces, this most traditional of painters’ media is given a completely new expression, with the artist’s works focusing on the purely physical characteristics of oil paint.

He pushes and pulls the smooth, sticky, solid and liquid paint on the aluminium base, thereby giving the painterly material an impasto, sculptural expression. Jason Martin generally mixes poppy-seed oil with his pigments in various ratios and various consistencies so that he can precisely adjust the viscosity of the paint to suit his needs. Jason Martin reveals the materiality of the paint with thick impasto work. In Ghost, he follows the rhomboid shape of the aluminium base by applying the dark black, purple and red oil paint in the impasto technique using a notched spatula. The lines, peaks and grooves of the oil paint break up the light so that it seems that Ghost is constantly changing, continually turning into sculptural shapes and colours before the viewer’s eyes. In Jason Martin’s words, these represent ongoing attempts at “making a monument out of an ephemeral mark”.. His work brings together the fields of painting and sculpture to form one indivisible element.

Quote from: www.lissongallery.com/exhibitions/jason-martin--5