In his large-scale oil and acrylic paintings, Martin juxtaposes recreations of the magazine and comic book covers of his youth with images drawn from art historical and literary sources, creating a dialogue across the lines of high art and pop culture in which one picture plays off another, extending and complicating their possible meanings and suggesting rich levels of complexity not overtly discernible or inherent in each image alone.

Martin, 76, is a Professor Emeritus at Virginia Commonwealth University where he taught from 1962–92 and was the First Chairman of the Painting & Printmaking Department from 1967–69. He has had numerous solo exhibitions throughout his multi-decade career including three separate traveling shows of his work organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (in 1973–74; 1975–76; and 1996–97), and a previous show at ADA Gallery (2010). His work has also appeared in over 200 group shows nationally and internationally since 1969. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants including two Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowships and a National Endowment for the Arts Visual Arts Fellowship (1995).

Martin lives and works in Richmond, VA

now through June 2, 2012 at ADA GALLERY, RICHMOND