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Mario Martinez Molecule Project Sculptures | SF

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Saturday, October 10, 2015 - 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm | Cost: FREE
Heron Arts | 7 Heron St, San Francisco, CA

Event Details

Heron Arts is pleased to present ‘Mars Molecule Project’, an exhibition of exploration into the sculptures of San Francisco-based artist Mario Martinez (Mars-1). On view will be a series of sculptures ranging in size (9ft, 2ft, and 3 inch), one large 15ft x 7ft painting, and photographs of the sculptures (shot by Colin M. Day) at their premiere destination, Burning Man. Mario Martinez will be in attendance during the opening reception at Heron Arts on Saturday October 10th, from 7-10pm. The exhibition will be on display until October 22nd, 2015 and is free and open to the public.

Made in Berkeley, California at the Artworks Foundation, Martinez used a mixture of modern and ancient techniques to create the 9ft, 2500-5000 lb, bronze sculptures. Two of the sculptures are reminiscent of molecules, while the third takes on the shape of a Taurus energy field. Each sculpture took three to four months to create, were first designed using 3D printing, and then transformed into the sculptures you see here using the ancient lost wax technique, a technique pre-dating the Bronze age (3,700 B.C.E.). The sculpture was welded from 70 different pieces, each ranging in size from 2-3ft.

Each sculpture has a very detailed design inspired by sacred geometry and the ancient language of hieroglyphics. The designs are meant to invite the viewer to look inside the hollow sculptures and connect with themselves and ancient worlds before us that can be experienced today. This juxtaposition of old and new informs the object experientially, which appears simultaneously couched in the past and present. The pieces playfully straddle the mental and material realms calling upon ancient artifacts and civilizations for inspiration.

Mario Martinez was born in Boulder, Colorado in 1977. Exhibitions of his work have been hosted at venues in San Francisco, New York, Detroit, Toronto, Lisbon, Italy, and Brazil. He participated in The Vader Project (2009) at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh and was a part of a group exhibition entitled Robots: An Evolution of a Cultural Icon (2008) at the San Jose Museum of Art, California; Natural and Unnatural: Imagining Landscape, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Clinton, NJ. This is his first solo exhibition with the gallery.

Exhibition Dates & Hours: 8/12/15 – 8/21/15 M-F 4-7pm, Sat-Sun 12-5pm

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.


Cost: FREE
Categories: Art & Museums, Weird, Wild & Wonderful Art
Venue: Heron Arts
Address: 7 Heron St, San Francisco, CA