Solo shows of work by Eddie Martinez and Sam Moyer will open Sunday at the Parrish Art Museum, and continue through Sept. 29. “Buflies” features Mr. Martinez’s large-scale paintings inspired by his son’s fascination with butterflies. “Ferns Teeth” continues Ms. Moyer’s exploration of materiality and light.
Mr. Martinez’s work spans painting and drawing, abstraction and representation, in nontraditional ways. The six 12-foot-tall paintings in “Buflies” were created specifically for the Water Mill museum, taking full advantage of its expansive space and high ceilings.
The artist started the “Bufly” series in 2021, when his son, Arthur, who was 2 at the time, became fascinated with butterflies, mispronouncing them as “buflies.” Typically beginning with black paint to make an outline, Mr. Martinez layers the paint, adding an abundance of texture and color to his canvases. Traces of his shoeprints on some of the paintings testify to the physical demands made by such large works.
The paintings consist of various combinations of oil, enamel, spray paint, and collage elements. He also produces large and small-scale abstract sculpture, made mostly from such found materials as rubber hoses, Styrofoam, cardboard, and metal scraps.
Mr. Martinez has had solo exhibitions at the Yuz Museum, Shanghai; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit; the Bronx Museum; the Drawing Center in New York City, and the Davis Museum at Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.
Since 2008, Ms. Moyer has developed a distinctive language of abstraction that considers questions of value, labor, and beauty. Over the years her practice has evolved from its more conceptual and process-based origins to address formal and theoretical issues. She reframes the painted surface as a sculptural field in which fragments of previously used stone are paired with hand-painted canvas to create dynamic compositions.
“Ferns Teeth” reveals Ms. Moyer’s relationship to material and light as a throughline in her work, displaying the range of her practice across three galleries. In one she presents a large-scale stone painting created to fit the architecture of the room. A second installation features sculptural photographs whose compositions are specific to the East End. A series of smaller, more representational wall works occupies a third gallery. Two of the three galleries will contain artist-made marble benches, and visitors can play on hand-cast backgammon boards in the museum’s lobby.
Ms. Moyer’s work has been included in solo and group shows at the Drawing Center; the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio; the Bass Museum of Art, Miami, and MoMA PS1 in Queens.
Both exhibitions have been organized by Corinne Erni, the museum’s chief curator and deputy director of curatorial affairs, with additional support from Kaitlin Halloran, assistant curator and publications coordinator.
