Bio

Sebastian Martorana is a sculptor and illustrator living and working in Baltimore, Maryland. For over ten years, Sebastian has focused on the art of carving. Much of the material used for his sculptures was salvaged from Baltimore’s historic, though often discarded, architecture. He received his BFA in illustration from Syracuse University, after which he became a full-time apprentice in a stone shop outside Washington, DC. He earned his MFA at the Maryland Institute College of Art’s Rinehart School of Sculpture.

Martorana works on private commissions and commercial projects from his Baltimore studio at
Hilgartner Natural Stone Company. His projects include work for the United States Senate building, the National Basilica in Baltimore, St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, and, most recently, the Eisenhower Memorial in Washington, DC. He is a faculty member at the Maryland Institute College of Art and a repeat presenter for the American Craft Council. Among other exhibitions, his work was featured at the Renwick Gallery’s 40 under 40: Craft Futures, and is now represented in the museum’s permanent collection.

Statement

Nope.

I've written and read many Artist Statements and they all seem over- long and over-thought. Each sounds like the kind of thing that one expects one to write after six years of art school.

This is my Person Statement.

I am a person that makes work. I call that work "art." I also make a living by making work. Some of this work is called "art." The vast majority of my work is made from stone.

However, my work is more than a medium. My work is more than a process. My work is more than a concept. My work is the synthesis of these things.

I believe that the concept that inspires a work of art and the method employed to make that work of art are inseparable. The medium implies the method, but they do not define the work; they inform it.

My work is made by my brain communicating with my hands. I find value in the ability of that relationship to communicate basic and fundamental truths. Most recently, I have chosen to focus of making contemporaneous memorials to atrocity. These are things that need noting as a person, not just an artist. However, my material does define one aspect of my work—speed. I am a slow producer, but I am trying to mark the events and those responsible for them in real time. It is a challenge, but I’m going to give it my best shot.