Shantell Martin, “BENN,” 2026 / Courtesy of the Artist, Photo Roshni Khatri

At the recent opening for her new exhibition, Shantell Martin asked the audience for prompts and then did a spoken word performance live in front of the crowd.

This particularly vulnerable artistic expression isn’t surprising for those familiar with Martin’s work. She has never shied away from exploring tough topics in her art, including identity, intersectionality and personal introspection.

Martin has said that performing in front of a crowd allows her own personality to come through since there is no time to reconsider what happens next.

“For me, that’s the most honest you can be, and I love putting that honesty on display for myself and others,” Martin said. “You also get to share something that can only happen in that particular moment, time and place. That combination of people in the room, what everyone brings and how we respond to one another creates something unique. Even if you brought everyone together again, it would be different. I love that we get to experience that moment.”

Shantell Martin, “Listen and Draw More,” 2026, guided audio / Courtesy of the Artist, Photo Roshni Khatri

Shantell Martin, “Reply Cards,” 2023-2025 / Courtesy of the Artist

Shantell Martin, “Reply Cards,” 2023-2025 / Courtesy of the Artist

Now open at Grounds For Sculpture, “Shantell Martin: Past, Present, Future” is an immersive, site-specific installation featuring new work indoors and debuting a new sculpture in the park’s gardens.

New murals adorn the West Gallery walls, filled with the line art for which Martin is best known. Floor to ceiling, her ink drawings were created onsite using a stream of consciousness process. Across the gallery is a new suite of work called the “Reply Card Project.” A selection of 88 24-inch by 24-inch works document select images from two years of Martin’s daily drawing practice. It centers the idea that a little bit of anything, consistently, can have a large impact.

Outdoors, Martin’s work has been brought off the page and into the gardens with her largest sculpture yet through a collaboration with Johnson Atelier. Johnson Atelier, which joined GFS in 2025, is an onsite high-tech art fabricator and restorer, which often functions as an extension of the artist’s studio.

Martin said that working with the Atelier allowed her to revisit work from earlier in her career and see it through a new lens. This work, a drawing, was from her time in Japan, and is named BENN. “The original drawing holds the past; the process of revisiting and making it brings it into the present; and its life as a sculpture opens up a future,” she explained. “BENN stands for ‘Be Enough Nurture Nature’ and plants seeds of imagination, ideas and hope. That feels very connected to the exhibition: something small created years ago can continue to grow.”

Shantell Martin, Along these Lines, 2026 / Courtesy of the Artist, and Reply Cards, 2023-2025 / Courtesy of the Artist

Shantell Martin, “Reply Cards,” 2023/ Courtesy of the Artist

Shantell Martin, “Reply Cards,” 2025 / Courtesy of the Artist

Self-exploration and continuous curiosity are key to her practice. In the exhibition, Martin provides prompts for visitors to participate in a creative process that is as much about kindness as the act of creating . Visitors can pull from three towers of paper to make their own contributions to the exhibition. The towers of paper become part of the storytelling, as they shrink and grow in size with the passage of time.

“Words have power. They can hurt, heal, comfort or open something up,” she said. “The prompts offer a moment to pause and reflect. I’m interested in what someone brings to a question and how their answer might change over time. Sometimes a few words can stay with you long after you leave an exhibition.”

Outside, words painted on select pathways invite visitors to reflect as they stroll through the sculpture park. By uniting artmaking with self-care and bringing art into the gardens, the exhibition underscores Grounds For Sculpture’s pillars of art, nature and wellness.

“Shantell Martin’s works explore the meditative nature of artmaking with collaboration and playfulness,” shared Kathleen Ogilvie Greene, chief audience officer at Grounds For Sculpture and the exhibition’s curator.

Martin’s sense of collaboration extends to a local quilting group who will use distinct thematic prompts created by Martin to design four large quilts. The quilters are part of the Princeton Sankofa Stitchers Modern Quilt Guild (PSSMQG). Formed by like-minded Black women, PSSMQG honors the legacy of African American quilting by sharing its traditions with the broader public.

Shantell Martin, “Reply Cards,” 2023-2025 (detail) / Courtesy of the Artist, Photo Roshni Khatri

Shantell Martin, “Along these Lines,” 2026 (detail) / Courtesy of the Artist, Photo Roshni Khatri

Shantell Martin, “Along these Lines,” 2026 / Courtesy of the Artist, and “Reply Cards,” 2023-2025 / Courtesy of the Artist, Photo Roshni Khatri

Shantell Martin, “Wonder, Time Passes, Through You,” 2026 / Courtesy of the Artist, Photo Lasso, Inc.

“Working with quiltmakers allows different hands, experiences and perspectives to become part of the work. Each person brings something of themselves, and together we create something that carries those contributions forward,” Martin said. “That feels closely connected to ‘Past, Present, Future’ – the histories we bring, the things we make together now and what we leave for others.”

PSSMQG is leading community participants in the creation of quilt blocks through a range of construction techniques, each tethered to personal reflections inspired by the exhibition. The quilts will be unveiled in a public celebration of the completed work in April 2027.

“Shantell Martin: Past, Present, Future” is on view at Grounds For Sculpture through July 23, 2028.

Grounds For Sculpture is a 42-acre sculpture park, arboretum and museum, featuring more than 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists. Grounds For Sculpture offers exhibitions in six indoor galleries alongside experiential art, horticulture and wellness programs. Its campus includes 25 artist studios and Johnson Atelier, which boasts state of the art sculpture fabrication and restoration capabilities. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas by public transit and is open year-round.

Art is the Throughline in Time
Shantell Martin: Past, Present, Future
September 20, 2026 – July 23, 2028 / Grounds For Sculpture
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