7 February – 23 March, 2014

Opening reception 7 February 6-10pm

Marginal Utility is proud to present an exhibition of wood engravings by the Roosevelt, NJ based artist Stefan Martin (1936 -1994).

Stefan Martin graduated from the Art in Institute of Chicago in 1958. During that time Martin found work at the Sander Wood Engraving Company, where as an apprentice he learned the techniques of commercial and traditional engraving. For over thirty years Martin employed these abilities to engage a rigorous investigation of the artistic limits of the wood engraving print process.

Stefan Martin’s engravings are a sophisticated investigation of the notion of white line technique. Wood engravings are relief prints that are produced by using the tools that were originally designed for steel engraving. Engravers work within the end grain, not the plank-side of the woodblock. This allows for the engraver to cut freely in any direction. Wood engraving was a dominant technique used for illustrations in books and periodicals from the late 1700’s to the early 20th century. There are two methods of wood engraving, the black-line and the white-line. With black line technique the artist makes a drawing in black and then cuts away the negative space between the lines. With white line technique, the artist cuts into the block directly making expressive marks with the buren.

Martin’s engravings combine a masterful performance of both approaches, but it is when a viewer’s eye follows the improvisatory marks scraped away by the artist’s buren that one gains a real sense of Martin’s accomplishments.

Stefan Martin spent a large portion of his early and later life in the rural town of Roosevelt, New Jersey. Roosevelt was the locus for a generation of artists such as Ben Shahn, Jacob Landau and Stefan’s father David Stone Martin.

David Stone Martin, cover for ‘down beat’ magazine 1961

David Stone Martin made a significant contribution to the graphic sensibility of Jazz record covers and magazines from mid 1940’s through the 50’s. David Stone Martin drew covers for Mary Lou Williams, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker and others. Filial traces of a shared sense of form, glimmering mid tones, and visually complex compositions can be seen between the graphic works of father and son.

Ben Shahn was a friend of Stefan’s father from the projects they did together for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930’s. Shahn was a widely recognized American Social Realist whose paintings addressed themes of social injustice. Stefan Martin worked closely with Shahn to periodically produce wood engraving interpretations of the older artist’s ink drawings. Martin’s prints present a legacy of draftsmanship from Shahn and David Stone Martin’s overlapping image repertoires.

Ben Shahn in collaboration with Stefan Martin, ‘Martin Luther King’ 1966, wood engraving print on paper, 25″ X 20.125″,

Michelle Post was the only apprentice that worked with Stefan Martin and the majority of the work in this exhibition is from Post’s collection. The first wood engraving that Michelle Post produced while they worked together is included in this show. We at Marginal Utility are grateful to Michelle for generously lending her collection to this exhibition. Thanks to Stefan Martin’s brother Tony Martin and his wife Margot Farrington for sharing information with us about Stefan’s life and career.