Meet Ender.
Ender Martos takes his art seriously. With precision and thought he creates stunning, light filled installations that’ll make your jaw drop.
How did you get started?
I grew up in Mérida, Venezuela, a city built in the colorful Andes, which was where my artistic attempts gasped for air. My earliest urge of artistic expression started with the humble habit of drawing the mountain’s silhouette with crayons and pencils.
When I reached the rebellious nature of adolescence years; I was introduced to a stricter form of delineation where I discovered the influence of structure through the discipline of Technical Drawing. Five years of rigorous enrollment taught me to appreciate art as a kind of architectural form, in which the meticulous negotiation of design enables the creation of artwork. Technical instruction gave me strength in which to build expression.
I began to experience a variety of new mediums, concepts, genres, and art movements through my academic years at the University of Texas at Austin. One of the mediums that played a visceral need for my 3D expression was Sculpture that later led to an epiphany. This is where I initiated the idea of relocating the lines of my structural drawings and vivid colors into 3Dimensional forms. I was particularly attracted to the idea of lively lines of a kind of a translucent material where light travels in, through and out, creating a sense of movement. Therefore I undertook this exciting journey.
Where in Austin do you go for inspiration?
Most of my inspiration comes from a collection of experiences in places where I see an abundance nature like dusk at Lady Bird Lake. Later on, they are translated into color-chromatic geometrical forms while I am in my studio.
Who are your favorite Austin artists/makers?
After living in this city for more than 15 years I have seen so much great talent that now is reaching the surface! Some of them are a few amazing local artists and makers like the work of multi-talented entrepreneur Sergio Carvajal-Leoni a filmmaker, storyteller, and musician, the crafted works of designer/handmade leather goods Noah Marion, and the creative concrete art installation of sculptor Paul Clarence Oglesby.
What do you love about this city?
It is an inexplicable magnetic attraction I felt when I visited for the first time back in the late 90’s perhaps an especial gravity force that made me fall in love with Austin. My home and love for Austin are a great variety of local restaurants, Lady Bird Lake, the healthy green dynamics of the city, the young open-minded spirit and creativity of people.
What drives your creative process?
Giant influences from the Op Art movement have marked a clear impact in my work. Nevertheless, in the search of my own voice, I began to utilize commercial materials like monofilament line, Plexiglas and acrylic paint. Understanding the true nature of these materials became my obsession. I incorporate powerful geometric forms and a repetition of oscillating lines with a pop sensibility in color like neon and fluorescents to create works that visually interact with the viewer’s movement, shifting their perceptions with each step. Weaving from one direction to another resulted in Op art finding me creating a constant evolution and revolution of new ideas for a bright future to come.
What’s the toughest part of your work?
As an entrepreneur visual artist, the toughest part of my passion is keeping up with all the related business side of it like press releases, taxes, documentation of artwork etc.
(Installation in Austin, Tx)
What advice would you give someone just starting out in your line of work?
Regardless of personal moods in which we all go through in life, always remember to create artwork when you’re happy, sad, or tired. Art making must be present to your daily routine, the more you nurture it the stronger it gets, I kept creating work through good and bad times to the point that it became a sacred meditational state of mind, in which I obtain a good chunk of inspirational ideas. Also, break the traditional art patterns of creation and let your creative imagination flow with all kinds of materials and ideas. With that in mind, I’d like to share the following quote by Nelson Mandela:
“I am the master of my fate and the captain of my destiny”
Thanks Ender! Find more from here on his website and on Instagram.