Móyòsóré Martins

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Mar 22

Contemporary Art | Design | Artsy

Móyòsóré Martins is a New York-based Nigerian contemporary artist taking the art world by storm. He’s a renaissance man who dabbles in graphics, product design, and music. MOYO’s paintings are deeply narrative and relate to his personal journey. He embodies his traditional Afro-cultural, spiritual roots and fashion-forward sense of aesthetics.

Born of Brazilian descent with both parents from Ekiti state, Nigeria, MOYO developed a sense of mixed cultural independence from his family’s tribal roots and developed his artistic vision from his travels and upbringing. Inspired by the streets of London and New York, his college years in Ghana and Ivory Coast blend into his artwork while expressing his Yoruban cultural roots.

MOYO is self-taught and is influenced by his internal vision and spirituality.

Moyo’s work is on view by appointment LINK. Select works are available through select gallery partners as well as on Artsy. For business inquiries, collaborations, etc., contact michelleve@traffic-nyc.com

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New York Nigerian contemporary artist Moyosore Martins looks within for inspiration. He is one of the most sought after emerging artists who the art world says is here to stay!

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Alot of Nothing, 2024 | Oil, pigment, charcoal on canvas | 72 x 60 in. (180 x 150 cm)

Móyòsóré Martins bridges abstract, figurative, and iconographic symbolism. He expresses the beauty in the figure and the depth of its subject; he obsesses with a cartoon-like character that imbues his iconography and that has a deep symbolic meaning. His approach is narrative and realistic in the early works, returning to his childhood memories. The African statue is always present and spiritually meaningful in his work. He is fascinated with contemporary plastic toy statues and collectibles from artists like Kaws, representing everything different in juxtaposition to the traditional Yaruba figures. A seminal work, “Watchman,” resonates; the painting is a study of the Yaruba figure and is interpreted by Martins as the man taking on his destiny, with a nod to his experience while employed as a night watchman in the Bronx—a lasting impression.

Martins expresses the emotion of the characters he deftly paints, the backgrounds layered, manipulated, scratched, and then infused with text. He places himself in the canvas, in the artwork, in spirit and name, even his birthdate. He scribbles words, mathematical formulas, mantras, and prayers. He visually expresses his internal conversation, which shifts as his world does—as a visual biography. He resists being put in a box. His unique use of materials and story is the cord that ties his work together.

As his craft and career expand, he looks back, reflecting on his path and where he has come from, both as a person and artistically. Entrenched with personal symbolism, every element of a painting has a purpose and a specific meaning to him, much like a morse code. The eyes symbolize his own spiritual “all-seeing”; the clusters of floating eyeballs represent a feeling that all eyes are on him, being “seen,” his work being seen. The mouth, large and slightly aggressive, describes the intensity of the experience of people talking about him. The etched words are like a mantra to manifest his vision.

**Olivier Varenne Art Moderne & Contemporain**
**37-39 Rue des Bains, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland**
**www.varenne.art**

*Now and Then I,* 2023 |Oil, pigment, charcoal on canvas |72 x 60 in. (180 x 150 cm)

“The true meaning of the paintings came to light after they were completed. I realized they were about my trepidation and preparation of going home to Africa. I was away for nearly 10 years. It was me reconnecting with myself. I was also in a dark place emotionally, so I created the backgrounds very dark. Layers and layers of black, then hues of the darkest cobalt blue, then stripping it down and working with layers of ultra-marine, and then red, which I covered over again. The combination of the colors created a dense hue. So dark, but not black—like the illusion of a storm. I wanted the painting to feel like a shrine, like that 3 am, middle of the night feeling. The dark series were about me waiting for what was to come and anticipating a return to Africa. Embracing where I come from.”

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Martins EYES THAT SEE Signature post.jpg

EXHIBITIONS

Current:

2024 Móyòsóré MARTINS Through the Light | Olivier Varenne Gallery, Geneva | Sept. 11—Nov. 1

2024 Móyòsóré MARTINS | Paris| Oct 16—Nov 15 | TRAFFICARTS, with the kind support of Jerome Neutres, Aurore Blanc, and Asher & Michelle Edelman

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2024 Arms Around The Child Foundation, Ghana (Artist in residency)

2024 Group Show | Tang Contemporary Art | Hong Kong

2023 Now, They Know|Gallery Tanit/Teal Contemporary | Beirut, Lebanon

2023 Scope Miami, Mitochondria Gallery

2023 Now, They Know…| Solo Exhibition |Galerie Tanit X Teal Contemporary| Beirut, Lebanon

2023 Art Shenzhen | Crossing Art | Shenzhen, China

2023 Butter | Long-Sharp Gallery | Indianapolis, ID

2023 Portraits in Focus | Robert Fontaine Gallery | Group Show | Miami, FL

2023 Intimate|Robert Fontaine Gallery | Group Show | Miami, FL

2023 The Artist Journey | Solo Exhibition | Crossing Art | New York, NY

2023 Beijing Contemporary Art Fair | Crossing Art | Beijing, China