"The Intrepid Imagescape Series is about painting and abstraction. I like to create shapes and colors in an organized way. Drawing, like Calligraphy, enables interpretations of past and present cultures. Many line drawings are explored for discovery and amusement. The paintings become imagescapes. Paintings, like most art, are an illusion. Working with serious intentions, and at play, it's fun to realize mystical moments in a comical way."

Jack Martinelli's abstractions dig into layers of time and place to find formal structure - the contours of an unearthed rock, living matter seen through a laboratory microscope, deep space beyond the Big Dipper.

Searching for imagery that defines place and time, Martinelli methodically constructs his abstractions within two-dimensional drawings. His idea of color values have freshness and an understanding of the modern art tradition.

Martinelli's resolute style shows how his independent-minded projection of line, color and scale resonates within a modest picture plane (small is good, not monumental.)

In Martinelli's art, a syncopated lift, novel hints of figuration and references to earlier avante-gardism become part of consistency that equals humor and satire. Condense these observations, like an improvised solo, and given time, they accumulate energy of subtle emotion.

Jack Martinell began his career at a time when Abstract Expressionism was recognized as the new contemporary American art. As a young man, he found the energy expressed at that time in New York gallery and museum exhibitions. During this period, Martinelli began to form his own ideas and approaches to abstract art.

Martinelli's career began in high school when he graduated with scholarships to the Corcoran College of Art and Design, Washington, DC. During his first year of Corcoran studio work, a Martinelli painting was selected by the New York abstract painter, Theodore Stamos, for an exhibition of 32 works from 450 entries exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution, Washing DC.

Over the years, Martinelli's paintings and drawings have been shown in national and international exhibitions and are in many public and private collections.

Martinelli is certified by the Maryland State Board of Education in Art and Vocational Education. He is an Associate Professor at the University of District Columbia, Washington, DC, and continues to facilitate art workshops from his home-studio in Rockville, Maryland.