Martin Holt is a cartoonist. He looks at ordinary social activity  then turns and twists it in such  a way that it becomes  absurd and very funny. 

When you look closer into one of his pictures different levels of meaning become apparent. His gift is to see the whole concept before he starts drawing and to possess the technique to set it down exactly as he wishes. Born in London, he grew up in a sheltered middle class Jewish atmosphere but  managed to break out as a student of  architecture at London University during the “swinging sixties”. This background and an inquiring, restless nature led eventually to his decision to live in Israel.

He arrived in 1966 and opened an architectural office in the Old City of Jaffa with the sculptor Frank Meisler, however he always felt that his real career lay elsewhere. He became involved in many other activities. He was a lecturer at the Bezalel Academy of Art in Jerusalem. He was a volunteer ambulance driver. He went through the restaurant trade from washer-up to chef-de-cuisine. He played in a traditional jazz band and sang the blues. At one stage he managed a riding school. He taught himself graphics and illustration- for a time he freelanced for IBM - but he never quite left the field of pure art. He kept drawing, perfecting his technique and becoming a cartoonist.

He spent a year in Paris, studied the martial arts and qualified as a master in Shiatsu. He is also an adept at an obscure alternative method of healing “Tibetan Singing Bowl Massage”. In 1987 he made the decision to be a professional artist, which led to opening the “Shadma Art Gallery” in Tel-Aviv The gallery was forced to close in 2002 as a result of the "Intifada" He now works from his studio at home in the heart of Tel-Aviv.

Martin Holt’s work is well known internationally. He is represented in Europe, the USA and Canada, and has exhibited in Paris, Marseilles, Brussels, New-York, Toronto, London and Florida as well as at many international festivals. He has worked for the Israeli press, including a stint as cartoonist for a series on "Sex and the Internet" for the daily paper "Ma'ariv". See www.martinn.itgo.com

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