On display from September 12, 2023 – December 3, 2023.

Join us for the Opening Reception of this exhibition in the Sip Art gallery at IAMA on Saturday, October 7, 2023 from 12:30 – 4 PM.

THE BLOSSOMING OF THE ETHNIC BEAUTY: Arturo Martinez presents this Solo Exhibit which manages to capture the ethnic origins of beauty that historically defies borders and nationalities, ultimately generating new cultural realities. It immerses us in the social dynamics that unite human and ethnic groups and are capable of modifying the qualitative perception of the individual being; thus, without ceasing to love his/her origin and identity, individuality is integrated into a universal society, and contributes to a collective flourishing and personal elements of ethnic beauty at the same time. New amalgamated universes then flourish with emphases in the fine arts, clothing, gastronomy, musical culture, and dance, tied together with a scale of sublime values through community awareness.

(SPANISH) EL FLORECIMIENTO DE LA BELLEZA ÉTNICA: Arturo Martínez presenta esta Exhibición Individual, que logra capturar los orígenes étnicos de la belleza que históricamente desafía fronteras y nacionalidades, generando nuevas realidades culturales. Nos sumerge en las dinámicas sociales que  funden grupos humanos y etnias, capaces de modificar la percepción cualitativa del ser individual que, sin dejar de amar su  origen e identidad, integra su individualidad a la sociedad universal, contribuyendo paralelamente al florecimiento colectivo, con elementos personales de su belleza étnica. Así se logran amalgamar nuevos universos que florecen protagónicos en las bellas artes, indumentaria, gastronómica, cultura musical, danza y una escala de valores sublimes con conciencia comunitaria.

Artist Biography:

Artist Arturo Martinez is a culmination of music, culture, and ethnicity. His work reminds one of the great African-American artist Romare Bearden celebrative renderings of life, jazz, and people. Like Bearden, Martinez too praises his ethnicity and mestizaje (of mixed race) without losing sight of the long struggle of the diverse ethnic communities of Mexico. 

His geometrical compositions of C shapes, half U’s, curves, circles, and his nonlinear patterns flow rhythmically. A musician himself of “Son Mestizo,” Martinez roots his paintings with an African, Mestizo, and Indigenous lining. Born in Tlacotalpan, Veracruz, Mexico, he captures the lyrical and traditional in the vibrant power of its local fauna, flowers, and customs with colors that guide his inspiration like a musical note on canvas. Each painting ripples with movement, and ebbs according to the color chosen. For Martinez, “music has resonance.” His approach to color is like the artist Wassily Kandinsky, who believed color to be like a keyboard. Martinez’s paintings have a deep inclination towards the rhythm of Latin Jazz. By incorporating patterns from Mexico’s diverse ethnic Indigenous plurality, Martinez exalts his recognition of the importance the artisanal artists have had in Mexico’s creative spirit. Each pattern expresses a natural deity, the cosmos, and a metaphorical meaning.

To learn more about Arturo and his work, follow him on Instagram and Facebook.