About the Artist
Martin Holt is a cartoonist, caricaturist and portrait painter.
Martin was born in London but has been living in Israel for many years . He studied architecture at University College London and Art at St. Martin's School of Art and at the Slade School of fine Art.
Martin moved to Israel a few years after completing his studies. He started out on his own with no Hebrew and one client and a project to design a villa in Caesarea. His practice grew and eventually he went into partnership with the late architect and sculptor Frank Meisler. Their office was in the Old City of Jaffa and proved very successful until forced to close down as a result of the "Intefadas" ( Arab uprisings ) which cut off their primary source of overseas clients.
Faced with a dilemma, Martin then decided to go into graphic design. He freelanced for IBM. and lectured on architecture at the Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem. It was during this time that he became fascinated by caricature and cartoons.
In the 1990's he opened his own art gallery "Shadma" in Tel-Aviv. This started out as a gallery for young Israeli artists but eventually became an outlet solely for his own work. "Shadma" was a great success for over 16 years until one of the recurring wars and a consequent lack of tourists forced a permanent shutdown. He has illustrated several books and has published "Masks" a book of his cartoons about the Gulf War.
Apart from art and architecture Martin has many other interests. He once managed a riding school near Tel-Aviv, learned Shiatsu from a Japanese Master and is an expert in Tibetan "Singing Bowl" therapy.
Until recently he worked from his home studio in Tel-Aviv and now he has relocated to Kfar Sava, a small town about 20 kms. North East of Tel-Aviv.
His series of lithoprints based on Jewish humor is well known internationally. He has added a series of serigraphs on Paris and lately he has entered into a new phase; painting large portraits in oil.
He has exhibited in Paris, Marseilles, Brussels and Venice as well as in New-York, Toronto, London and Florida.
The name "Shadma" meaning "white flower" or "fields of flowers" is a quote from the Bible- The Book of Isiah Chapter 37