The Guardian, August 24^th 1991.

London debut by a young figurative painter who appears quirky and humourous, then reveals a curious world of psychological drama.

What's On magazine, September 11^th 1991,

This modest exhibition is a minor revelation. Still under 30, and still only on his fourth solo show (all of them in minor exhibition spaces), Martin Grover is already an artist not only of great promise, but also of considerable accomplishment.

Despite the scope and stature of his expansive canvases, Grover paints in acrylic not oil, as reproductions of his pictures would suggest. Acrylic is also the chosen medium for his smaller studies on paper, which form an intriguing dualogue with the larger paintings in this consummate one man show.

Acrylic lends Grover's art the matt finish of Polaroid photography. Indeed, his draughtsman's skills are beyond doubt. However, to this realistic route, Grover brings a subtle surreality, rooted in the high tea traditions of Sendak or Ardizonne, as English as 'Alice Through The Looking Glass'.  

'Harbour' is the crowning glory in this land of tipsy daydreams, a world away from the full blown anarchy of Dali, close to the gentle hallucogen that is Magritte. A sailor stares out to sea, a child faces the shore. Beside them a man lies sleeping. A single shard of rock pierces the blue horizon.

Elsewhere, Grover plays with turns of phrase: A Watched Pot Never Boils, Too many Cooks Spoil the Broth, and somewhat more bizarrely There Are More Ways To Kill A Dog Than Choking It With Butter.

Other compacter pictures boast even more sinister intent: Accidents Will Happen Even in the Best Regulated Families, coos a domestic heart attack in a suburban semi.

All in all, an exquisite blend of wonder, wit and menace – the maturity of an established artist married to the humour and enthusiasm of a fledgling children’s illustrator.

William Cook.

There have been other reviews which unfortunately at the time of writing seem to have been misfiled. Grover does recall Charles Hall (he can’t be sure if the name is correct) writing a piece in Art Review about the same show so glowingly reviewed by William Cook. 'Hall' thought the paintings interesting, displaying a certain cleverness but ultimately for him the paintings lacked the sexual tension of a more mature painter like Paula Rego, so it was 4 or 5 out of 10 from Charles.

Continuing his recollections Grover recalls a two line mention  in The Daily Telegraph from a review of the 1991 John Moores Exhibition at the Walker art Gallery, Liverpool. Martin’s painting 'The Wait' a composition of bulging figures crammed into claustrophobic space, obviously lacking sexual tension but displaying a certain amount of pain, torment and angst, (it was a casualty waiting room after all), had been selected. Grover's memory once again lets him down, he thinks the reviewers name was Rose or Rosie, anyway whoever it was they in passing acknowledge his technical competence and draughtsmanship before moving swiftly on.

Hardly a comprehensive review but  he still feels it’s worth a mention being the right side of bad; at least he was being noticed, a1993 prize winning painting 'Two Slightly Anxious Sisters' in the same competition failed to get a mention whatsoever.

An even more tenuous and apocryphal reminiscence involves Brian Sewell (he is sure of that) attending an exhibition of Grover's in Earl's Court. On the whole it was said he was slightly underwhelmed but he did find  himself  grudgingly complimenting the bottom right hand corner of the painting 'The Fall of Mrs Hope' with a slight and nonchalant gesticulation of his right foot. Martin would like to think that Brian used Tony Hancock's classic line from The Rebel where he, similarly examining  the painting of an eager young artist, observes "…that’s where your painting is mate" pointing to some insignificant  detail. But this has never been verified.

At this point in terms of reviews Grover's history now enters the Dark Ages. Even so from the period 1993 to the present day he has produced a remarkable if slightly idiosyncratic body of work that has won him no critical acclaim but has appealed to the small section of the public lucky enough to catch his numerous independent shows, as his many visitor books testify:

"Very nice and meaningful though I didn’t get all the meanings". Anon.

"Great space, good work in space". Marilyn.

"Such a nice art to see and in my opinion the ever realistic art I ever saw with this magnific clours and personification style!!! Thank you very much! Eurico Sousa.

"V. beautiful paintings of great experience and depth. They echo with many quiet question marks. Thankyou". John Brewer.

 "…the works are brilliant, lovely light, all contemporary, all solid rocks. The buyers are short and facing backwards.best wishes". Paul Gildea.

"Wonderful sense of humour and love the way you paint your trees and clouds". Anon.

"I don’t know much about art but I know what I love….Faaabulous!!!!". Darren Chadwick 

"You are the master". R. Ryan.

"Really enjoyed the colours, people bothered me! Trees like Grant Wood. Nice show". Anon.