Phillip John Martin (1927–2014) was a visionary painter working with collage and sculpture.

Early life, UK and Ireland

Martin was born in 1927 in

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

to an Irish family. He was the son of a bank director. He attended Felsted Public school for ten years, between 1938 and 1948. He served three years in the British Royal Navy. In the summer of 1948, he entered the

Third Order of Saint Francis The Third Order of Saint Francis is a third order in the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi. The preaching of Francis and his disciples caused many ma ...

brotherhood as a lay brother. He left the order because of differences in philosophy and devoted himself to painting. He then lived in London. He was an artist in residence at the Abbey Arts Centre (London) 1949–1950 where he met Irish Australian fellow artist Helen Marshall (1918–1996) and

Stacha Halpern Stanislav "Stacha" Halpern (20 October 1919 – 28 January 1969) was a Polish Australian painter and sculptor. Following the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939, Halpern emigrated to Australia. A decade later he became a naturalised Australian citi ...

. Phillip Martin... defined by the well-known French critic

Alain Jouffroy Alain Jouffroy (11 September 1928 – 20 December 2015) was a French writer, poet and artist. Jouffroy was born near Parc Montsouris, Paris. He was the first advocate of an Art Strike and formed the L'Union des Ecrivains during the strikes of ...

: “the Gandhi of modern painting”. A globetrotting, hippie artist who painted "spiritual" paintings full of symbols and effigies with decorations to evoke sacred vestments or decorations of oriental temples. Martin had started painting in London in 1948 also encouraged by his painter friend

Alan Davie James Alan Davie (28 September 1920 – 5 April 2014) was a Scottish painter and musician. Biography Davie was born in Grangemouth, Scotland in 1920, the son of Elizabeth (née Turnbull) and James William Davie, an art teacher and painter who ...

, a little older than him. He later began with his Irish wife Helen Marshall to travel and paint throughout Europe.

France, Spain and Italy until 1962

1951 journey to Austria, first ''Affiches'' painted on packing paper. Becoming the central theme of his work. 1952 travel to Italy, Aix en Provence, Paris.

Michel Tapié Michel Tapié (full name: Michel Tapié de Céleyran; 26 February 1909 – 30 July 1987) was a French art critic, curator, and collector. He was an early and influential theorist and practitioner of "tachisme", a French style of abstract paintin ...

acquire many affiches, presents them in June at Galerie Facchetti; Les signifiants de l’informel with

Camille Bryen Camille Bryen, also known as Camille Briand, (September 17, 1907– August 5, 1977) was a French poet, painter and engraver. Associated with the School of Paris, his work plays a part in the history of lyrical abstraction and tachisme. Legac ...

Donati Donati is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Angelo Donati (1885-1960), Italian banker and philanthropist * Baldassare Donati (1525/30–1603), Italian composer of the late Renaissance *Buoso Donati (—ca. 1285), charact ...

Gillet Gillet is a Belgian automobile manufacturer, started in 1992 by former racing driver Tony Gillet. The company produces the Vertigo sports coupé, an ultra-lightweight (990 kg) 'bespoke' and hand-built sportscar. The slogan of the company i ...

Mathieu Mathieu is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * André Mathieu (1929–1968), Canadian pianist and composer * Anselme Mathieu (1828–1895), French Provençal poet * Claude-Louis Mathieu (1783–187 ...

Pollock Pollock or pollack (pronounced ) is the common name used for either of the two species of North Atlantic marine fish in the genus ''Pollachius''. ''Pollachius pollachius'' is referred to as pollock in North America, Ireland and the United Kingd ...

Riopelle Riopelle is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Howard Riopelle (1922–2013), Canadian ice-hockey player *Jean-Paul Riopelle (1923–2002), Canadian painter and sculptor *Jerry Riopelle Jerry Riopelle (May 5, 1941 – December 2 ...

, and Jaroslav Serpan.Works for six months in

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speak ...

, Ireland and meet

Gerard Dillon Gerard Dillon (191614 June 1971) was an Irish painter and artist. Life Dillon was born in Belfast, he left school at the age of fourteen and for seven years worked as a painter and decorator, mostly in London. From an early age he was intere ...

. 1953–1956 Phillip Martin and his wife Helen Marshall work on their paintings in Positano, Ischia, Florence where they meet

Roberto Matta Roberto Sebastián Antonio Matta Echaurren (; November 11, 1911 – November 23, 2002), better known as Roberto Matta, was one of Chile's best-known painters and a seminal figure in 20th century abstract expressionist and surrealist art. Bio ...

1956–57 Work in South of France, Aix en Provence meet

André Masson André-Aimé-René Masson (4 January 1896 – 28 October 1987) was a French artist. Biography Masson was born in Balagny-sur-Thérain, Oise, but when he was eight his father's work took the family first briefly to Lille and then to Brussel ...

and

Pierre Alechinsky Pierre Alechinsky (born 19 October 1927) is a Belgian artist. He has lived and worked in France since 1951. His work is related to tachisme, abstract expressionism, and lyrical abstraction. Life Alechinsky was born in Schaerbeek. In 1944 he att ...

. 1958–60 working period in Mallorca, Alicante, Ibiza, Formentera. Période of ''Apocalypses'', ''Reliquaires'' meet

Alan Sillitoe Alan Sillitoe Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, FRSL (4 March 192825 April 2010) was an English writer and one of the so-called "angry young men" of the 1950s. He disliked the label, as did most of the other writers to whom it was appl ...

. 1960–62 Return to Paris, Phillip work on a series of paintings ''Affiches for Ireland.'' Meet

Erró Erró (born Guðmundur Guðmundsson in 1932 in Ólafsvík, Iceland) is a visual artist and painter, who is best known for his painted pop art collages of images from comic books and advertisements.

in Paris; and

Mark Tobey Mark George Tobey (December 11, 1890 – April 24, 1976) was an American painter. His densely structured compositions, inspired by Asian calligraphy, resemble Abstract expressionism, although the motives for his compositions differ philosophi ...

in Basel.

Move to India

Phillip Martin and his family moved to India, 1962–1969 and settled in the

Aurobindo Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as ''Vande Mataram''. He joined the ...

ashram, near Pondicherry. They were the first Anglo Saxon family living in the Ashram. Two years later, they travelled back to Brussels and held a major retrospective at the Palais de Beaux arts de Brussels. and Phillip exhibited a second time at Galerie du Dragon in Paris. Back in the south of India, Phillip and his family witnessed the opening of

Auroville Auroville (; City of Dawn) is an experimental township in Viluppuram district, mostly in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, with some parts in the Union Territory of Pondicherry in India. It was founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa (known as "the Mo ...

in 1968. He exhibits in Mumbai at the

Jehangir Art Gallery Jehangir Art Gallery is an art gallery in Mumbai (India). It was founded by Sir Cowasji Jehangir at the urging of K. K. Hebbar and Homi Bhabha. It was built in 1952. Managed by the Committee of Management, the entire cost of this mansion was d ...

, with Helen Marshall and

Bhupen Khakhar Bhupen Khakhar (also spelled Bhupen Khakkar, 10 March 1934 – 8 August 2003) was an Indian artist. He was a member of the Baroda Group and gained international recognition for his work as "India's first 'Pop' artist." Works Khakhar was a self ...

Australia, 1969–2014

He returned to Australia in 1969 and exhibited in a joint exhibition with Helen Marshall for the inauguration of the new Holdsworth Galleries in Paddington Sydney. They lived in Melbourne for a year, exhibiting at St Kilda Tolarno Gallery. Living next door to Mirka Mora in Wellington street Phrarhan. 1979, Return to Australia, and continue to work and exhibit. He lived in his house in

Glebe, New South Wales Glebe is an inner-western suburb of Sydney. Glebe is located southwest of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney, in the Inner West region. Glebe is surrounded by Blackwattle Bay ...

until the day of his death in 2014.

Public collections

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

, MOMA, New York City, USA. * Centre National d’art Contemporain. *

Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the list of largest art museums, largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation a ...

. Detroit, USA. * Dimona Art Gallery, Israel. * Municipal Museum of Modern Art, Dublin. Ireland. * La Boverie. Belgium. * San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. San Francisco. USA. *

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

. Chicago. USA * Campbeltown regional Art Gallery. Campbeltown, Australia. *

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

. Canberra. Australia. * Gladsaxe Kommunes . Danemark.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Phillip 21st-century British painters 1927 births 2014 deaths