Martine Syms facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Martine Syms
Martine Syms
Born	1988 (age 36–37) Los Angeles, U.S.
Alma mater	School of the Art Institute of Chicago (BFA) Bard College (MFA)
Occupation	Artist filmmaker critic publisher

Martine Syms (born 1988) is an American artist who lives in Los Angeles. She creates art using many different ways, like making books, videos, art shows, and performances. Her art often explores who we are, especially focusing on being a woman and black culture. Syms often uses humor and comments on society in her work. In 2007, she came up with the idea of a "Conceptual Entrepreneur" to describe her unique way of making art.

Martine Syms is represented by art galleries called Sadie Coles HQ and Sprüth Magers.

Early Life and Education

Martine Syms was born in 1988 in Los Angeles. She grew up in a place called Altadena with her three brothers and sisters. Her parents taught her at home from ages 7 to 12. Martine knew she wanted to be an artist from a young age.

Her parents supported her creative side. Her mom liked art and writing, and her dad was a photographer. Martine also went to a special art school program called the California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA).

In 2007, Syms earned a degree in film, video, and new media from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Later, she got her master's degree from Bard College in 2017.

Her Art Career

From 2007 to 2012, Syms helped run an art space in Chicago called Golden Age.

In 2015, she showed her video "Notes on Gesture" in New York City and Los Angeles. This video looks at how small body movements can show who a person is.

Syms also helped write a speech for the musician Kanye West in 2015.

In 2016, Syms performed a piece called "Misdirected Kiss" in New York and Los Angeles. This performance was inspired by an old movie and talked about language and how people are shown in media. That same year, she had a solo art show in London called "Martine Syms: Fact & Trouble". It featured her video series "Lessons".

In 2017, Syms had a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It featured her long film called "Incense, Sweaters & Ice." She also won an important art grant that year. In 2018, Syms started teaching at the California Institute of the Arts.

Syms also started her own publishing company called Dominica Publishing. It focuses on books and art about Black identity and culture today.

In 2022, Syms directed her first movie, The African Desperate. It was shown at a film festival and later bought by the streaming service Mubi.

What is a Conceptual Entrepreneur?

Martine Syms uses the term "Conceptual Entrepreneur" to describe her work. This means she thinks of artists as people who can create their own businesses and be in charge of their own success. It's about artists finding ways to support themselves through their art.

Some famous artists before her, like Marcel Duchamp, also explored this idea. They showed that art can be a business. Syms is interested in this idea because she likes independent music and businesses owned by Black people.

Her art has been shown in many places, including Human Resources, the New Museum, and the MOCA Los Angeles.

How She Creates Art

Syms' art explores what it means to be Black today, ideas about gender and identity, and how language works. She uses many different ways to show her ideas, like video, performances, and writing. She often uses clips from modern media in her art.

Syms likes how short videos can share important messages. She collects "orphaned media," which means videos or images that don't have a clear home or purpose anymore. For example, she looks at how people use smartphones to create their identity, even though she doesn't use social media herself.

She often turns art galleries into multimedia collages, mixing different types of art together. Syms has learned many technical skills, including computer coding. She is inspired by satire, which uses humor to make fun of things and send a message. She works on one project at a time, changing her ideas as she goes.

Personal Life

Martine Syms enjoys playing soccer. She plays as a midfielder for a team called Sativa Football Club.

Art Collections and Shows

Public Collections

Martine Syms' art can be found in many important art collections around the world, including:

• Art Institute of Chicago, USA
• Guggenheim Museums and Foundation, USA
• Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, USA
• LACMA, Los Angeles, USA
• MCA Chicago, USA
• MoMA, New York, USA
• Perez Art Museum, USA
• Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, USA
• Walker Art Center, USA
• Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, USA

Solo Exhibitions

Martine Syms has had many art shows where only her work was displayed. Some of these include:

• Armory Center for the Arts (Pasadena, CA), 2014
• Machine Project (Los Angeles, CA), 2015
• Institute of Contemporary Art (London, England), 2016
• Museum of Modern Art (New York), 2017
• Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago IL), 2018
• Sadie Coles HQ (London, England), 2018

Group Exhibitions

Syms has also shown her art in many group exhibitions, where her work is displayed alongside other artists. Some of these include:

• New Museum (New York), 2011, 2014, 2015
• MCA Chicago, 2011
• Studio Museum (Harlem, New York), 2014–2015
• Hammer Museum (Los Angeles), 2016, 2019
• Whitney Museum (New York), 2017, 2018, 2019
• The Shed (New York), 2019