Studio 7 Projects & Jenny Blyth Fine Art present...
Martin Grover: Motown Magic, 23 October – 4 November 2017.
"The paintings of old 7” singles have narrative and romantic thread. Collecting LP’s and singles from an early age, it felt natural to start painting some of these old records as still life. Enlarging them to over a metre square, they become intense, capturing that larger than life feeling, the nostalgia thatcertain songs and labels can trigger." Martin Grover.
Grover is a consummate realist artist, who by contrast creates paintings that are whimsical and nostalgic. Much of his work explores narrative of day-to-day life in South London from local shopkeepers and their wares, to scenes from urban parks. There is a quirkiness and storybook element to the style of his compositions that goes beyond the narrative, but this exhibition is an unabashed celebration of his vinyl paintings - Motown classics from the seventies such as Marvin Gaye’s iconic ‘What’s Going On’ and Yvonne Fair’s unforgettable ‘It Should Have Been Me'. Martin Grover trained with a BA Hons in Fine Art in Nottingham and MA at The Royal Academy Schools. His work is in international collections and has been awarded many prizes such as The John Moores Exhibitions. He has exhibited in The Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions.
Curated by Jenny Blyth & Saff Williams.