Think Blink but Don't Sink, 2017

Ink on Paper, 17 x 14 in

Martin has been named HELP USA's 2025 Art of Resilience Artist, a role in which she will collaborate with HELP on a series of initiatives to raise awareness about the traumas and challenges faced by homeless and formerly homeless individuals. Martin will create a permanent, commissioned artwork for the lobby of Glenmore, the future home of HELP Women's Center, a transitional housing facility for women opening in Fall 2025 in East New York, Brooklyn.

Martin's solo exhibitions include Intimate Whispers at Vardan Gallery in Los Angeles (2024), NEW/NOW: Shantell Martin at the New Britain Museum of American Art (2020), and Words and Lines at the Denver Art Museum (2019). She has also participated in significant group exhibitions such as Trespassing at Christie's in New York (2022) and BEYOND THE STREETS on Paper (2021). Her work is housed in prominent collections, including those of the British Government Art Collection, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Denver Art Museum, the Bata Shoe Museum, the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, and the Whitney Museum.

Beyond the gallery space, Martin's public art installations can be found in major cultural hubs, including Rockefeller Center and The Oculus in New York. Her large-scale murals and site-specific works have become landmarks, bringing art into public life in ways that are both interactive and deeply personal. She has also collaborated with institutions such as the New York City Ballet, where she incorporated her signature aesthetic into stage design, and with global brands like Tiffany & Co., Puma, and Kendrick Lamar, expanding the scope of contemporary art through cross-disciplinary innovation.

Martin's influence extends into academia and research, where she has served as an adjunct professor at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and as a visiting scholar and research affiliate at MIT Media Lab. She has also contributed to climate activism as an advisory board member of the Climate Museum in New York.

Her artistic practice is rooted in an exploration of self and society, often incorporating performance and movement into her work. She sees drawing as a language-one that is intuitive, expressive, and unbound by convention. Whether on canvas, in digital media, or on monumental architectural surfaces, Martin's lines tell stories of resilience, identity, and human experience, challenging viewers to see themselves reflected in the ever-evolving landscapes of her work.