Taymour Grahne Projects is pleased to present Lilac Plaster Gucci Sandal, a solo exhibition by LA-based artist Lilian Martinez, opening on October 29 between 5-7pm at the Holland Park space (10 Portland Road) as part of a joint opening across our 3 spaces.

Lilian Martinez’ first physical solo exhibition at Taymour Grahne Projects is a celebration of beauty and comfort comprising of a group of lively yet peaceful paintings that continue to incorporate whimsical and joyous figures to the artist's personally crafted universe of vibrancy. The compositions feature dynamic brown women in dreamlike cozy interiors engaging in everyday leisure activities. Her larger than life brown female figures with the unexpected and fun proportions are dressed in comfortable airy fabrics and appear reclining between exotic palm tree leaves, enjoying tasty snacks, and spending time with their pets. Martinez’ forms are organic and surrounded by elements that create a harmonious balance on the canvas. Easily recognisable forms taken from the Internet, classical architectural elements, fashionable shoes and contemporary pop cultural references always populate the paintings along with cacti and succulents from the local flora of southern CA. These elements help create the lush settings for Martinez’ dreamy portraits, landscapes, and still lifes and fabricate the ongoing narrative of her idyllic world.

The true shining beacon of Martinez’ work is found in her overall ability to portray joy so effortlessly. 'Baño' is a perfect example that showcases what a potential portrait of pure and optimal bliss may resemble. Layering life’s different pleasures along the horizontal quarters of the canvas, Martinez superimposes vegetation and nutrition over a scene of rest, with every element sporting the pastel alternative to its original colorway, as seen in the overtly pale bananas. This work fully taps into the glorification of comfort, rendering the woman as being fully engulfed in her blue covers almost as if to immerse her figure into an aquatic body, melting away her being to be broken down into this moment in time. A metaphorical wave of relaxation washes over her.

Martinez’ extraordinary richness and luminosity of colour and her flat figures recall iconic predecessors that innovated in expanding the use and meaning of form and colour in art, such as Paul Cézanne, Henry Moore and Henri Matisse. These elements from modern figurative art are then paired with 1990’s popular culture references, fashion, and memories from an exciting basketball game. All elements from Martinez’ life that feel relevant to the artist and as she mentions, occupy space in contemporary culture. Another important source of inspiration for Martinez is California. Her tones are pastel-hued, sun-soaked, washed out and bright, inspired by the city of LA. The reference to the blue skies and the radiancy colours get under the strong sunlight is clear. Lilian mentions that California influences her paintings in a way that reminds her of how the colour palette changed for Matisse when he moved to the south of France.

It is important to focus on the rich brown skin tones of Martinez’ protagonists as the artist’s impetus is to center brown bodies that have historically been essentialized, if not omitted altogether, from canonical art history in an attempt to recontextualize the roles of the artist and subject at once. Martinez choses to reclaim her subjects’ liberty by allowing them to be comfortable around their beloved items and in the space they feel most happy in. The women are painted in larger than life scale, an element that can be seen as an empowering reclamation of space by brown bodies, an act of cultural inclusion. As a second generation Mexican born in Chicago, Lilian noticed early on that people of colour were largely absent from canonical art history and popular culture. Through her practice, the artist now aims to empower brown female bodies and face the wrongs of art history - eventually making art a more inclusive space disconnected from the idea of privilege. Women are removed from the sexualised context they are frequently seen in, and are given a precious sense of comfort and freedom to be themselves. Nudity here becomes a signifier for freedom rather than sexuality. Self-care and healing take on a transformative role. Having the figures stare back at the viewer is another sign of empowerment, encountered in many examples throughout art history, with the most famous being Picasso’s 'Les Demoiselles d’Avignon' and Goya’s 'La Maja Vestida' - making the show an ode to the beauty of strong women.

Lilian Martinez earned a BFA in Photography from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Martinez is the founder of BFGF, an online home goods company working with digitally printed and woven versions of her artwork. This lifestyle brand name means boyfriend/girlfriend and offers beautiful functional objects, tapestries, upholstered furniture, pillows, clothing and accessories that aim to democratise art making it more accessible. Martinez has exhibited her work nationally and internationally at numerous venues such as Ochi Projects (LA); Taubman Museum of Art (Roanoke, VA); Swish Projects (San Diego, CA); The Naughton Gallery (Belfast, Ireland) and Commune (Tokyo, Japan). She has collaborated with famous international brands such as Nike and Life Water. Currently lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.