Based in East London, Max Marr Martyns is a painter whose practice sits at the intersection of abstract expressionism, formalism, and installation. Deeply rooted in personal experience, his work acts as a methodology for understanding his own mind. Through painting, he processes emotions connected to love, loss, grief and mental health, translating internal landscapes into large-scale, gestural abstractions.

Martyns uses space as an active and responsive component of his practice, not merely as a backdrop but as a tool for emotional resonance. He considers the installation of each paintingas a continuation of the painting process itself, an opportunity to control how the work is encountered, felt and interpreted. By manipulating scale, positioning and viewer proximity, he takes control of spatial dynamics to shift perceptions and create a heightened psychological presence. Whether hanging a work unusually high to create an overbearing sense of scale, leaning it away from the wall to disrupt conventional engagement, or constructing entire environments around a piece, Martyns challenges the passivity of standard gallery display.

He allows each painting to ask for what it needs, responding with spatial solutions that extend its emotional and conceptual voice. In doing so, he rebels against the neutrality of the traditional“white cube” space and asserts a controlled, intentional space, one that prioritises feeling, immersion and intimacy. His work becomes a negotiation between the viewer and the environment, shifting passive observation into active encounter.

Martyns constantly considers how his work is experienced— actively controlling space to disrupt expectations and create emotionally charged environments. He continues to explore how architecture, display, and spatial control can reinforce the intention behind a painting and invite deeper, embodied engagement.

By merging painting and installation, Martyns creates works that do more than occupy space -they claim it, shape it, and ask the viewer to meet them on shifting, emotionally resonant terms.