ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Shantell Martin Virtual Reality Online
Click here to enter the virtual reality space.
Originally presented at the NBMAA October 22, 2020 through April 18, 2021, NEW/NOW Shantell Martin highlighted the artist’s ability to examine themes of identity, intersectionality, time, and space by creating rich visual intrigue simply using the accessible media of a pen or a marker. This virtual reality experience allows the NEW/NOW show to live on into the future and enables the user to explore Martin’s innovative works of art intimately, learn more about the artist’s life, and invites users to create their own drawings inspired by Martin’s work.
“I'm super excited that the exhibition gets to live on and looking forward to more people being able to experience what we created with New/Now,” said Shantell Martin. “We're going to hopefully see more of this in the future, digital or virtual experiences of art and creativity, but this is another example of how NBMAA is innovative and forward-thinking, and I'm so honored to be a part of their community.”
This virtual exhibition was created by IKD, an award-winning architectural MBE design firm based in Boston and San Francisco operating at the intersection of art, architecture, culture and community.
How to Navigate the Virtual Exhibition Space
When the user first enters the Shantell Martin virtual reality experience, they find themselves in the center of the William L. and Bette Batchelor Gallery at the NBMAA. To navigate the space, the user clicks on Martin’s signature face icons on the floor or on one of the eight white dots in the miniature gallery plan located in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. Moving to the A.W. Stanley Gallery, users can watch an interview with the artist Shantell Martin and see more of Martin’s incredible work, including multiple collaborations with other designers.
Each of Martin’s works in the show can be seen close-up by clicking on any of the objects throughout the galleries. A highlight is the ability to “fly through” Martin’s large-scale site-specific mural entitled Transparency, 2020, which she drew directly onto the gallery wall for this exhibition. Learn more about this work and watch a video of the entire drawing process by clicking on the mural.
Additional information about Martin’s work can be found in the menu along the bottom of the screen. To learn more about Martin’s life and inspiration for her work, users can experience many digital offerings, including a Gallery Talk led by Associate Curator Lisa Williams, a conversation with former NBMAA Director & CEO Min Jung Kim, and a playlist of music inspired by Shantell Martin’s creative process. All of these resources can be found under Audio/Video.
About NEW/NOW Shantell Martin
Among the most innovative artists working today, Shantell Martin (b. 1980) is known for her exploration into the vast potential of the drawn line. Using an ink marker, she creates improvisational compositions with meandering lines and a recurring cast of characters, symbols, and messages that reflect a deeply rooted interest in identity—her own and also the viewer’s—as well as intersectionality, society, culture, and play. Martin’s signature black-and-white works reveal her personal mantra to “draw on everything,” and comprise small personal sketches, monumental murals, live-drawing performances, and collaborations with fashion brands, science and technology innovators, and cultural icons.
As part of the New Britain Museum of American Art’s NEW/NOW series featuring emerging and established contemporary artists, this exhibition marked Martin’s first career retrospective. Representing nearly two decades of work creates in London, Japan, New York, and across the United States, the show explored the evolution of Martin’s artistic style and technique while highlighting key aspects of her output, including art, performance, commerce, and technology, and their myriad cross-sections. Her large-scale site-specific mural entitled Transparency, 2020 was created on the occasion of her exhibition at the NBMAA, and reflected the artist’s response to both the space and time in which it was made.
Featured Press
New Britain Museum of American Art to feature Shantell Martin with virtual reality exhibition
by Jeniece Roman, New Britain Herald, January 20, 2022
New Britain Museum of American Art to feature Shantell Martin with virtual reality exhibition
Opera News, January 20, 2022
Sponsors:
The 2020-21 NEW/NOW: Shantell Martin show was part of 2020/20+ Women @ NBMAA presented by Stanley Black and Decker with additional support provided by Bank of America.
NEW/NOW: Shantell Martin was made possible by the Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. Additional support was provided by SEI Investments and the Howard Fromson Endowment for Emerging Artists.