Marty Baptist's work combines a personal form of existentialism with raw expressionist symbolism. Baptist explores the problems of human existence and centres on the experience of thinking, feeling, and acting through his paintings. A lifetime lived and experienced deep within skateboard, and street culture has led to the development of an authentic and unique outsider visual aesthetic.
Baptist's paintings are a mix of astute observations and out loud thoughts. His work has a dark sense of humour that he matches off against the everyday. His imagery ranges from oblique pop culture references to loose, figurative observations. Baptist's use of text adds a cryptic overture, ranging from gentle jest to subversive honesty.
Bus-stop graffiti and sgraffito meet ambiguous, elliptic text and symbolic imagery from the ancient and contemporary worlds. Baptist's sources are found in the underworld, chance encounters, late nights on the street, early mornings on the beach, overheard conversations, bar room chatter, confused situations, and texts, online and on the phone.
Baptist's work questions how we live our daily lives. Often stating the obvious, he creates uncertainty around the simplest of things.
Text by A.B. McDonald and Max Creasy
Marty Baptist has exhibited throughout Australia and Internationally since 2003. He has collaborated with a diverse array of creative partners and labels, including Paramount House (Sydney), Cliché (France), Jacksons on George Hotel, Krooked Skateboards (USA), Adidas, Warner Brothers, and Oakley. Baptist has often exhibited alongside contemporaries such as Mark Gonzales, Shaun Gladwell, Lee Ralph & Dan Boyd. Baptist's work is held in numerous private and institutional collections worldwide.
Image
Marty Baptist, into tomorrow 2023, acrylic, spray and enamel on canvas, 122 x 183cm. Courtesy the artist.
