A hydrogen atom is about 99.9% empty space. We see only the remaining .1% of matter as form, missing a huge portion of the information available to us. My fascination with this imbalance is the foundation for my sculptures. What you see is a small part of the whole story.
My characters are multicolored, genderless, politically and religiously neutral archetypal personalities. These dynamic forms are nuanced storytellers that use space to reveal their gestures. I produce pages of sketches to discover each character’s essence. As each unique voice emerges, I move to 3D. Then, as a director guides an actor, I continually reshape the armature to best express my character’s role.

“My life is a series of questions: What if? What else? And Why not?”

Chas Martin’s perception comes from an incessant curiosity about everything. Curiosity informs perception. Perception precedes reality. 

After studying Visual Communication at Pratt Institute in New York City, Martin worked with Boston and San Francisco ad agencies as an art director and creative director. He painted at night to retain sanity. 

In 1980 he pursued painting full time. He also began exploring 3-dimensional work. In 1981, he moved to Oregon. Travels and readings about other cultures feed his imagination. His sculptures and masks are influenced by petroglyphs and myth. His approach and his results are both playful and serious.

Martin is a former instructor at Boston Art Institute, San Francisco Academy of Art University, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Northwest Academy and Sitka Center for Art and Ecology. He lives in Portland, Oregon. His imagination, however, is not geographically attached.