Martín Samaniego
Bio
Martín Samaniego (b. 1991), is a multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in Quito, Ecuador. He earned his MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago - Chicago, IL with a focus on painting, drawing, and printmaking.
His work combines media such as painting, charcoal, engraving, embroidered threads and handmade paper, creating his own supports and frames. His work is recognized for its reflective character approached from introspection, reflection and experimentation of both media and formats.
At the same time, Martín has developed an extensive career as a musician; founding member of La Máquina Camaleón and Da Pawn, with whom he has played at various festivals, concerts and theaters nationally and internationally. Within his career, participation in festivals such as El Hermoso Ruido, and Estereo Picnic in Colombia, tours in Mexico and in several cities in Ecuador stand out.
Statement
My work has led me to become interested in the materials, mostly used in traditional art, and their advantages and disadvantages in the process of creating each work. I want to explore in different formats and materials the presence that these works can have in a given space; almost as if they became symbols or had the ability to imitate a presence. I seek to raise awareness of basic truths such as detachment and apprehension to accept the continuous fluidity of life. Mujō, impermanence in Japanese, connects with the Buddha's teaching on the importance of constant change in all things and aspects of our lives. Yù yī, is inspired by the descriptive terms of John Koenig which refers to the desire to see with new eyes and feel things as strongly as when we were younger; before expectations, memory, words. Through the materials and processes in conjunction with the reflections that they carry, I raise surfaces of introspection on fractional moments of melancholy related to change.
2.5 x 4m / 98.4 x 157 in
