Jarrad Martyn (VIC)

Jarrad Martyn (b. Aberdeen, 1991) is an Australian artist based in Melbourne. His practice explores humanity’s relationship with the natural environment, and the framing and evolution of historical events. By responding to a wide range of imagery, from archival photo albums to found and artificial imagery, Martyn is interested in the movement of these images through time - how the legacy of symbols and motifs transform to produce a range of new associations in the present.

Through collapsing the distinctions between figuration and abstraction in painting, drawing, and collage, Martyn creates a state of flux - visually representing something that is not fixed and is constantly changing. By hindering precise representation and creating an ambiguous sense of place, Martyn encourages the viewer to shift between modes of thinking and looking, deducing links and deciphering their own conclusions about the events unfolding, and the symbolic meanings within.

Martyn's work is held in numerous public and private collections, including the Gippsland Art Gallery, University of Western Australia, Edith Cowan University, Curtin University, City of Perth, City of Joondalup, Shire of Mundaring, City of Yarra, Schmidt Ocean Institute, and St John of God Hospital Art Collection among others. Martyn has been awarded in various national art prizes, most notably winning the John Stringer Art Prize (2018), the City of Joondalup Community Invitation Art Award Overall Acquisitive Award (2017), the Fifty Squared Art Prize (2021), the Mayor's Award for the Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art (2023), and the People’s Choice Award for the John Leslie Art Prize (2024). He has also been a finalist in a wide selection of awards, commissions, and grants, including exhibiting at the Frost Museum of Science as part of Art Basel Miami (2023).

Martyn’s practice also extends into the public sphere, with large-scale commissions for council and commercial murals. His work can be seen in the Shire of Collie (WA), Rochester (VIC), City of Fremantle (WA), City of Swan (WA), and the Newman Hotel in the Pilbara (WA), among others.

Link:  https://thewest.com.au/entertainment/art/layers-peel-away-ng-b88974737z

https://jcg.curtin.edu.au/john-stringer-prize/

https://jarradmartyn.com/home.html

Image of Jarrad Martyn, Winner John Stringer Prize 2018 for 'Range' courtesy John Curtin Gallery