No Martins

Amongst No Martins’ most recent exhibitions are the individual shows: Social signs at Jack Bell Gallery, in London, UK (2020); Tudo sob controle, at the 29th Program of exhibitions of the São Paulo Cultural Center (CCSP), in São Paulo, Brazil (2019), and; Aos que se foram, aos que aqui estão e aos que virão, at the Pretos Novos Institute, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2019). Amongst the collective shows in which he has recently participated are: The discovery of what it means to be Brazilian, at the Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, Chicago, USA (2020); 21st Sesc VideoBrasil Contemporary Art Biennial, at which he received the Sesc Contemporary Art Award (2019), and; Histórias Afro-atlânticas at the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP) and Tomie Ohtake Institute, São Paulo, Brazil (2018).
 
His artistic production connects painting, performance, and experimentation with objects, through which Martins investigates everyday interpersonal relations, especially in regard to how the Black population lives in urban settings, questioning social conflicts such as racism, violence-led mortality, and over-incarceration of the Brazilian population. Martins uses his comings and goings in the city as a tool in his creative process. Often, Martins’ work carries what the artist refers to as “social signs”, a range of representations of objects, scenes, and recurring situations in the Brazilian social structure.