Mars Molecule Project

Mario Martinez (Mars-1)

Heron Arts is pleased to present Mars Molecule Project, an exhibition that explores the unique sculptures of San Francisco-based artist Mario Martinez (MARS-1). On view will be a series of sculptures, ranging in size from 3 inches to 9 feet. Also on view will be a large 15-foot by 7-foot painting, as well as many photographs of the sculptures (shot by Colin M. Day) at their recent premiere destination, Burning Man 2015. Mario Martinez will be in attendance during the opening reception at Heron Arts on Saturday October 10th, from 7-10pm. The exhibition will be on display until October 22nd, 2015. It is free and open to the public.



Since being shown in San Francisco, Heron Arts has presented these sculptures at Miami Project. They are currently on public display in Nashville.



Made in Berkeley, California at the Artworks Foundry, Martinez utilized a mixture of modern and ancient techniques in order to create the 9-foot, 2500-5000 lb., bronze sculptures. Two of the sculptures are reminiscent of molecules, while the third takes on the shape of a Torus energy field. Each sculpture took three to four months to create. They were first designed using 3D Printing, and then transformed into the sculptures you see here using the ancient "lost wax" technique, a technique pre-dating the Bronze Age (3,700 B.C.E.). The sculpture was welded from 70 different pieces, each ranging 2-3 feet in size.

Each sculpture has a very detailed design inspired by sacred geometry and the ancient language of hieroglyphics. The designs are meant to invite the viewer to look inside the hollow sculptures and connect with themselves and ancient worlds before us that can be experienced today. This juxtaposition of old and new informs the object experientially, which appears simultaneously couched in the past and present. The pieces playfully straddle the mental and material realms calling upon ancient artifacts and civilizations for inspiration.

Mario Martinez was born in Boulder, Colorado in 1977. Exhibitions of his work have been hosted at venues in San Francisco, New York, Detroit, Toronto, Lisbon, Italy, and Brazil. He participated in The Vader Project (2009) at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh and was a part of a group exhibition entitled Robots: An Evolution of a Cultural Icon (2008) at the San Jose Museum of Art, California; Natural and Unnatural: Imagining Landscape, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Clinton, NJ. This is his first solo exhibition with the gallery.

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