Shantell Martin’s The Future

A site-specific art show that explores the future of the art industry.

Opened on May 7, 2022 at Shepard Fairey’s Subliminal Projects art gallery in Los Angeles, The Future is an immersive site-specific art installation and exhibition. Multidisciplinary artist Shantell Martin created the large-scale installation as well as a series of new works based on her 27-point manifesto, written for the future of the art industry. The manifesto encourages visitors to question both what art is and who is it made for in the present. Furthermore, to ponder – with hope – the role of the artist in the future. As the artist explains, the 27-point text is “a hope, a wish, and an encouragement for everyone to look deeper into how we support artists, how we protect artists, how we empower artists, and how we value art and the artists who dedicate their lives to their craft.”

The exhibition combines entirely new works with a site-specific installation that covers the gallery’s space in Martin’s signature line art. The works range from drawings on paper and canvas to illustrations on bottles and textiles. Stepping inside the gallery, visitors discover an immersive space with every inch covered in the Martin’s artworks. From the vinyl floors to the walls, art is everywhere.

“Shantell Martin’s use of line and language as a way to conjure a sense of relationship and connection functions like a Rorschach test, but is a much more elegant use of black ink as the primary tool,” says Shepard Fairey. The artist and Fairey also launched a (now sold-out) limited-edition, collaborative print to mark the opening of the show. Shantell Martin’s The Future exhibition is on show at Subliminal Projects from May 7 until June 4, 2022. You can also visit the artist’s website here. Photography © Shantell Martin, Steph Enciso, Michelle Mosqueda, Morgan Rindengan.