Biography

Sculptor Joe Martin was born in Little Rock in 1957. At the age of forty, he began exploring visual arts, experimenting with many media. Five years later, he began working primarily with clay, focusing on portrait and figure sculpture through classes at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts Museum School.

After a few years at the school, he transitioned to intense independent study at the Andy Huss Studio. He now works exclusively in his home studio in Little Rock.

Though his roots are sculpting realistic representation, his real joy comes from creating characters with whimsical disproportionate features. He is inspired through a keen interest in diverse faces and situations that he encounters in daily life.

Martin’s work can be found in private collections throughout Arkansas and Tennessee, including states from the mid-Central United States to the West Coast. A few pieces can even be found in the home of an enthusiastic collector in Sweden!