MARTIN ROLLINS BIO
Here to There
A year or two back home, after I left graduate school and began sorting
things out, I came to artistic terms with myself as an easel painter.
Working with traditional subject matter in both my studio and in the
plein-air manner, somewhere along the line I was labeled a "realist
painter’.
This never sat well with me, as I feel my artistic process is more like a
writer than an artist who looks to only recreate what I can see around me.
I have always had as my intent to be an observer who gleans and attempts
to express my experiences of life through visual terms. From those
sources, I edit and attempt to craft something new. In the way a writer
uses language to create a novel from their own experiences and
observations, I bring together the visual elements of art to create a
visual narrative of mine. So, while the artwork may have the appearance of
"real life" - the works contain conceits, ironies, and personal musings
separate from the details of the visible world.
The title of this exhibit Here to There references the internal journey of
my artistic process from bringing what is percolating within in me
creatively to what is realized on the surface of these respective
artworks. Yes, I am most certainly inspired by light, color, or mood of
something I observe in the world – but initial impressions are at the very
least married, if not eclipsed, by what they evoke in me or what happens
when the artwork is underway.
Although the assembled works in this exhibition are distinctly varied,
they are connected through a certain point-of-view in each work – so in
looking from one place to another set-place there is also a visual dynamic
of “from here to there”.
In creating these works it was not as important to me to have them
stylistically aligned as it was to have each work reflect what moved me to
create each image. The purposely selected color motifs, and the painting
and drawing techniques I employed, - all proceed from what I was after in
the different works. It is in the space between what inspires me and the
final developed image where I find the story I wish to portray.
EDUCATION
1987 Master of Fine Arts, University of Cincinnati, Painting and Drawing (Studied with Robert Knipschild)
1981 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Louisville School of Art, Painting (Studied with Mary Ann Currier)
Postgraduate work: University of Louisville, Brooklyn College, Art Students League, Harvard University
GRANTS
1997 Kunst in der Stadt, Mainz, Germany, Louisville Sister Cities Artist Exchange
1982-1992 Kentucky Arts Council, Frankfort, KY; Artist in Residence Grants
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019 “Four Seasons,” Deemer Gallery, Louisville, KY
2017 “Town & Country,” B. Deemer Gallery, Louisville, KY
2016 “New Works,” B. Deemer Gallery, Louisville, KY
2015 “This, That and the Other,” The Jewish Community Center, Louisville, KY
2013 “Close to Home,” B. Deemer Gallery, Louisville, KY
2011 “Oil Pastels by Martin Rollins,” B. Deemer Gallery, Louisville, KY
2009 “Recent Works,” B. Deemer Gallery, Louisville, KY
2007 “Oil Pastels,” B. Deemer Gallery, Louisville, KY
2005 “A Sense of Place,” B.Deemer Gallery, Louisville, KY
2004 “Travelogue,” B. Deemer Gallery, Louisville, KY
1991-2002 “Recent Works,” B. Deemer Gallery, Louisville, KY
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019 “Contemporary Portraits of the Ohio River Invitational,” B. Deemer Gallery, Louisville, KY
2004 “SUTHERLAND GALLERY GROUP SHOW,” Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, Louisville, KY
2002 “9-11 EXHIBITION,” Louisville Visual Art Association, Louisville, KY (Juried)
“KENTUCKY ARTISTS,” Kentucky State Capitol, Frankfort, KY (Invitational)
2000 ‘CITYSCAPES,’ The Sutherland Gallery, Bardstown, Kentucky
‘MARY ANDERSON CENTER,’ Actor’s Theater of Louisville (Invitational)
‘CFAC ALUMNI EXHIBITION,’ Louisville Visual Art Association (Invitational)
1997 ‘THE NUDE SHOW’ Lexington Art League, Lexington, KY
1996 ‘WATERSIDE ARTS FAIR,’ Louisville Visual Art Association, Louisville, KY
‘THE MALE NUDE’ Artswatch Gallery, Louisville, KY
1994 ‘LOUISVILLE DRAWING INVITATIONAL’ Louisville Visual Art Association and Mainz, Germany
1993 ‘TRANSITIONS’ Craft Exhibition, Headly-Whitney Museum, Lexington, KY
1992 ‘TOYS’ Morlan Gallery at Transylvania University, Lexington, KY (Invitational)
‘ARTSWATCH MEMBERS EXHIBITION’ Artswatch Gallery, Louisville, KY
‘JULY JURIED’ Floyd County Museum, New Albany, IN
1991 ‘THE LOUISVILLE SCENE’ Headly-Whitney Museum, Lexington, KY (Invitational)
1990 ‘REALISM TODAY’ Evansville Museum of Art and Science, Evansville, IN (Juried)
‘INTERIORS AND EXTERIORS’ Sewickley Academy, Sewickley, Pennsylvania (Invitational)
1989 ‘PENSIVE LANDS; LANDSCAPE THROUGH THE EYES OF FIVE CONTEMPORARY
ARTISTS,’ Knight-Gomez Gallery, Baltimore, MD (Invitational)
1989 ‘SHAWN LEE AND MARTIN ROLLINS EXHIBIT’ Campbellsville College, Campbellsville, KY (Invitational)
1999 ‘ANTI-UTOPIA EXHIBIT’ Bullet Exhibition Space, New York, NY (Invitational)
1988 ‘JULY JURIED’ Floyd County Museum, New Albany, IN
‘APPROPRIATIONS,’ Birke Gallery at Marshall University, Huntington, W VA (Invitational)
‘RECENT WORK; BROWN, NOLDE, ROLLINS AND SMITH’ Schneider Hall, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY (Juried)
‘ME; ARTIST’S SELF-PORTRAITS’ Liberty Gallery, Louisville, KY (Invitational)
1987 ‘APPROPRIATIONS,’ DBN Exhibition Space at 101 Wooster Street, NYC (Invitational)
‘MFA THESIS EXHIBITION’, Tangeman Gallery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2012 “An Artist's Perspective: Martin Rollins,” Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church, Louisville, KY. Series of three presentations related to art and culture.
2006-2008 National Art Education Association National Conferences Facilitator, Museum Division’s Teacher Museum Exchange
1998-present Crescent Moon Studio, Louisville, KY, Director and Lead Instructor
2000-2008 JB Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY, Associate Curator of Education for School Programs
1995-2000 JB Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY, Associate Curator of Education: School and Family Programs
1994-95 Bloom Elementary, Louisville, KY, Artist in Residence, Instructor & Mural Painter
Academic year University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, Adjunct Instructor, Fine Arts
1992-95 Louisville Visual Art Association, Louisville, KY, Children’s Free Art Classes Instructor
1992-94 M L King, Jr. Elementary, Louisville, KY, Artist in Residence, Instructor
1989-95 Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts, Louisville, KY, Visual Arts Faculty
1982-92 Kentucky Arts Council, Frankfort, KY, Artist in Residence, Residencies throughout KY
1987-88 Academic year, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, Adjunct Instructor of Fine Arts,
1985-87 Academic years, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, Graduate Teaching Assistant
1982-92 Kentucky Arts Council, Frankfort, KY, Artist in Residence, throughout Kentucky
1983, 1985-1988 Kentucky Institute for the Arts In Education, Louisville, KY, Visual Arts Faculty
PARTICIPATING ARTIST IN ANTI-UTOPIA ARTIST BOOK in the collection of:
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
Museum of Modern Art, NYC
Pompidou Center, Paris, France
SELECTED COLLECTIONS:
Community Health Systems, Nashville, TN
River Road Asset Management, Louisville, KY
Siebert and Johnson, Louisville, KY
Thompson, Miller and Simpson, Louisville, KY
Greenbaum, Doll & McDonald, PLLC, Louisville, KY
Stock Yards Bank, Louisville, KY
Lockheed Martin Corporation, Bethesda, MD
Rudd Heart and Lung Center at Jewish Hospital, Louisville, KY
Crescent Hill Library, Louisville, KY
Brown Forman Corporation, Louisville, KY
Louisville Gas and Electric Corporation, Louisville, KY
Martin Marietta Corporation, Baltimore, MD
Lionel and Mary Ann Currier of Louisville, KY
Syncopated Dance Company, Lexington, KY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2011 Staff Picks by Jo Anne Triplett, LEO Weekly, Louisville, KY. April, pg. 2011
2011 Rollins Shares Streetscapes, On the Town by Elizabeth Kramer, The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY. April 29th , Features, pg. D6
2011 Martin Rollins, Louisville Artist, interview by Scott Dowd, Arts-Louisville.com, Louisville, Ky. March, YouTube video
2011 Martin Rollins- Oil Pastels, self-published catalog to accompany exhibit at B. Deemer Gallery, poems by Martin Rollins, photos of artwork by Kenneth Hayden, Design by Mike Prather, Louisville, KY. March
2009 Ineffable: Literary Responses to the Visual Art of Martin Rollins, poetry by E.K. Larken, design and photography by Marilyn Motsch, Louisville, KY. Self-published to accompany exhibition, Recent Works, B. Deemer Gallery
2007 Familiar Becomes New in Martin Rollins’ Drawings, “Visual Arts- Review” by Jo Anne Triplett, LEO Weekly, Louisville, KY. December 5-11th , pg.28
2007 Neighborhoods/St.Matthews by Martha Elson, The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY. Nov 14, P.15
2007 Building Programs for Schools: The Speed Listens to Students and Teachers, The Speed Art Museum Newsletter, Louisville, KY. Spring, pg. 3
2007 Martin Rollins, self-published catalog, essay by Maggie Meloy, design by Montage Creative, photographs of artwork by Kenneth Hayden, studio photograph by John Nation, Louisville, KY. November
2006 Honest Charm in Louisville Streets, by Leah Hawkins, Arts Across Kentucky, Lexington, KY. Spring, pg. 57
2003 Travelog, “Visual Arts- Review” by Jo Anne Triplett, LEO Weekly, Louisville, KY. Dec 3, pg. 26
2003 Martin Rollins/Travelog, essay by Albertus Gorman, Louisville, KY. self-published, November
2002 Mixed Media, profiles painter Martin Rollins, produced by Aaron Hutchings and Gary Pahler, KET- The Kentucky Network, Lexington, KY. October, archives episode #505
2002 Martin Rollins/Oil Pastels, essay by Mary Anne Currier, Louisville, KY. Self-published, March
2001 Portraits of the City, various artists photo essay in Louisville Magazine, Louisville, KY. “City Guide Issue”, January: Cover and pg. 9
