Martin Selman

Button

2006

carrara marble

Satchel

2007

Carrara marble

Martin Selman is one of a rare breed of sculptors in New Zealand today who works exclusively in the western tradition of marble carving. The Carrara tradition, as it is called, is named after the marble quarry in Italy that has for centuries provided the world’s stone carvers with their material. History has it that Michelangelo used to journey to Carrara to select personally the highest quality marble for his projects.

In Button and Satchel Selman continues in the tradition of the finest marble carvers. In this work the sculptor has fashioned the hard and unresponsive material into an object of softness and seduction. He tricks the spectator into thinking (at least at first glance) that the object is a soft, supple form. This trompe l’oeil effect informs the history of sculpture as well as painting. It is the essence of traditional representational sculpture.

Selman has been working with stone and exhibiting his sculpture since 1993. He graduated from Massey University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1991 and then completed a Diploma of Visual Art and Design at EIT, Hawke’s Bay. In 2002 he continued his training by studying classical art in Italy and visiting workshops in Carrara, Rome and Florence. His international experience then extended to study in Britain and teaching in Switzerland. In New Zealand he has an established reputation as a teacher of his craft. He has been teaching stone carving since 1998 at workshops and symposiums throughout the country.

Button and Satchel are part of a series which takes the everyday object as its subject matter. Placed next to a wooden bench, as if absentmindedly discarded, Satchel shows Selman’s approach to leather continuing in the same Super-Realist style as his fabric cushions and drapery. His work is particularly popular with corporate clients and private collectors and he is represented in collections locally and internationally.

Dr. Robin Woodward