Profiles In Innovation• CODA

Shantell Martin: Living Lines

British-born and now based in New York, artist Shantell Martin works in many spaces: drawing, performance, design, fashion, and lots of actual physical spaces.
Chris Mohney
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Sometimes, Shantell Martin works in very big spaces indeed, like huge white-box galleries and exhibition halls, or even bringing a reimagined version of Tiffany & Co.’s greenhouse to Milan. Her line art seems to grow irrepressibly across any boundaries, whether from pages or walls (or shoes). Her signature “Liveography” performances involve drawing live via projector, synced to music. As a creative traveler across and beyond genres, her wanderlust is clearly insatiable.

Do you use technology creatively outside of your live shows? 

Absolutely. I use it in many ways. I’m constantly searching for new technology to incorporate into my work or to create my work with. Whether that’s with apps, new devices, etc. I also use it socially and in my personal life. 

What’s your favorite shoe right now? 

I’ve been wearing my own Puma Basket sneakers from my latest collection a lot lately! 

What artistic formats or media would you like to try that you haven’t yet? 

I’d like to do more public art sculptural work and more furniture and architecture work. I’d also like to see my work on bigger facades, like the Guggenheim. 

What’s it like to be an artist working with big brands like Puma and Tiffany? 

It’s great to collaborate with these types of brands, because you’re able to bring your work into a different medium and industry. You can expose it to a different audience and, in some cases, like Puma, make an actual product that people are proud to wear—proud to be able to support you in that way. 

Whose work have you found inspiring lately? 

I’ve been doing a “Saturday Artist Showcase” on my Instagram, and that’s really been inspiring. Discovering new artists, reconnecting with older artist friends, and seeing where their work is now. Also kind of changing the format of how we use social media and making it more about sharing and supporting other artists with my audience.