Ponti Art Gallery is interested in buying and selling works
of art by this artist.
Kris Martin Biography
Kris Martin is a Belgian conceptual artist whose work spans a variety of mediums, including sculpture, drawing, and intervention. Born in 1972, Martin has established himself as an artist who meticulously explores themes of time, history, mortality, and the human condition. His approach is often marked by a subtle wit and a penchant for recontextualizing everyday objects to infuse them with new, thought-provoking meanings.
Martin's artistic journey is characterized by his rigorous conceptual practice, where he addresses existential questions with both subtlety and humor. His works are known for their careful refinement, where both the ideas and the materials are given equal consideration. This attention to detail and materiality is evident in his diverse body of work, which includes everything from large-scale sculptures to small, intimate drawings.
One of the central themes in Martin's work is time—its measurement, its passage, and its role in the human experience. He often employs objects that emphasize the concept of time, such as broken wristwatches, church bells, and train information boards. These objects are transformed in such a way that they invite viewers to reflect on their own perceptions of time and mortality.
In his exhibition at the Aspen Art Museum, Martin showcased his ability to shift perspectives through scale. He positioned large boulders marked with tiny paper crosses, turning these rocks into symbolic mountains, their highest points representing human achievement and the comforting knowledge that others have traversed difficult paths before us.
Martin's work is also deeply rooted in literature and art history. In one of his notable pieces, "Idiot" (2005), he hand-transcribed Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel "The Idiot," replacing the protagonist's name with his own, thus creating an unconventional self-portrait and an act of adulation. This work, along with others like it, demonstrates Martin's interest in the intersection of personal identity and cultural heritage.
His exhibition "FAIRY TALES" at KÖNIG GALERIE featured a series of collages from his ongoing series "END POINTS," where he cut out the final points from books of various genres and glued them onto blank sheets of paper. Each work was titled after a different fairy tale, reducing the narrative to its most minimal expression and inviting the viewer to engage with the void left behind.
Martin's sculptures often incorporate readymades, which he subtly alters to create new meanings. In "For Whom," a large bell installed in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, he removed the clapper, rendering the bell silent and transforming it into a space for personal reflection. Similarly, his transcription of Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" onto a single page, obliterating the text, speaks to themes of value, persistence, and futility.
Martin's work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at prestigious international museums, including the Kunstmuseum Bonn in Germany, the Aargauer Kunsthaus in Switzerland, and MoMA P.S.1 in New York, among others. His art has also been featured in numerous group exhibitions and is included in prominent public and private collections worldwide.
Beyond the gallery space, Martin has engaged with public spaces in unique ways. For instance, he placed copies of his "Idiot" book in hotel room nightstands throughout Aspen, blurring the lines between art and everyday life.
Kris Martin's practice is a testament to the power of conceptual art to provoke thought and evoke emotion. Through his work, he invites viewers to consider the larger questions of existence and to find beauty and meaning in the spaces he creates. His contributions to contemporary art continue to resonate, offering a lens through which we can examine the world and our place within it.
Kris Martin Quotes and Sales
of Works
Ponti Art Gallery selects and deals with paintings by the
artist. Upon request, we provide free estimates and
evaluations, communicate prices, quotations, and current
market values.
If you are interested in BUYING or SELLING works by the
artist, contact us immediately.
If you wish to sell or receive an evaluation of the
works:
Send us a frontal photo of the painting, one of the back,
and one of the signature. Also, indicate the dimensions of
the work. Inform us about the purchase origin of the work
and any kind of available documentation (purchase
receipts, certificates of authenticity, publications). One
of our operators will respond to you on the same day. We
guarantee maximum confidentiality and extreme
professionalism.
If you wish to purchase works by the painter: Contact us
and let us know your request. We will inform you about the
available works. We also offer the possibility to
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informed at the beginning of each month about the latest
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