Mario Martinez (painter)
Encyclopedia
Mario Martinez is a contemporary abstract painter. He is a Native American art
ist who is a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe
from New Penjamo (in Scottsdale
), the smallest of six Yaqui settlements, in Arizona
. He currently lives in New York City. Martinez received his bachelor's degree from School of Art, Arizona State University
in Tempe and his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute
. His work has been exhibited in 2005 in a one-person retrospective at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian
in New York. Notable group exhibitions include: "Who Stole the Tee Pee?" at the National Museum of the American Indian, New York; "AlieNation" at the American Indian Community House Gallery. His work was recently shown at "IN/SIGHT 2010" at Chelsea Art Museum, New York and "The Importance of IN/VISIBILITY" at Abrazo Interno Gallery, New York, 2009. In 2002 Martinez was one of the first non-Japanese artists to be invited to exhibit at the Contemporary Artists Federation Group Show at the Museum of Modern Art, Saitama
, Japan. In 2000, he was a visiting professor of art at the University of Arizona
in Tucson, and in 2001 he received the Native Artist in Residence Fellowship from the National Museum of the American Indian. In 2005, Martinez completed a commission for the Heard Museum
in Phoenix, Arizona; a 22-foot mural called Sonoran Desert: Yaqui Home as part of "Home: Desert Peoples in the Southwest" exhibition. Martinez will be featured in a solo exhibition at Mesa Contemporary Arts in Mesa, Arizona opening September 10, 2010.
Native American art
Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas encompasses the visual artistic traditions of the indigenous peoples of the Americas from ancient times to the present...
ist who is a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe
Pascua Yaqui Tribe
The Pascua Yaqui Tribe is a tribe of Native Americans, acknowledged by the United States government on September 18, 1978.Most U.S. members of the tribe live in southern Arizona. Descended from the ancient Uto-Azteca people of Mexico, the ancestors of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe first settled in the...
from New Penjamo (in Scottsdale
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
), the smallest of six Yaqui settlements, in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. He currently lives in New York City. Martinez received his bachelor's degree from School of Art, Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
in Tempe and his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute is a school of higher education in contemporary art with the main campus in the Russian Hill district of San Francisco, California. Its graduate center is in the Dogpatch neighborhood. The private, non-profit institution is accredited by WASC and is a member of the...
. His work has been exhibited in 2005 in a one-person retrospective at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian
National Museum of the American Indian
The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum operated under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution that is dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the native Americans of the Western Hemisphere...
in New York. Notable group exhibitions include: "Who Stole the Tee Pee?" at the National Museum of the American Indian, New York; "AlieNation" at the American Indian Community House Gallery. His work was recently shown at "IN/SIGHT 2010" at Chelsea Art Museum, New York and "The Importance of IN/VISIBILITY" at Abrazo Interno Gallery, New York, 2009. In 2002 Martinez was one of the first non-Japanese artists to be invited to exhibit at the Contemporary Artists Federation Group Show at the Museum of Modern Art, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan. In 2000, he was a visiting professor of art at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
in Tucson, and in 2001 he received the Native Artist in Residence Fellowship from the National Museum of the American Indian. In 2005, Martinez completed a commission for the Heard Museum
Heard Museum
The Heard Museum of Native Cultures and Art is a museum located in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. There is also the Heard Museum North Scottsdale branch in Scottsdale and the Heard Museum West branch in Surprise....
in Phoenix, Arizona; a 22-foot mural called Sonoran Desert: Yaqui Home as part of "Home: Desert Peoples in the Southwest" exhibition. Martinez will be featured in a solo exhibition at Mesa Contemporary Arts in Mesa, Arizona opening September 10, 2010.
Selected exhibits
- Into the Void: ABSTRACT ART, 1948 - 2008. Museum of Contemporary Art, TucsonMuseum of Contemporary Art, TucsonThe Museum of Contemporary Art in Tucson, Arizona, USA, was founded in 1996, by Julia Latane, James Graham, and David Wright, artists and arts advocates....
, AZ, 2010. - IN/SIGHT 2010 A group show of contemporary art by American Indian Artists, Chelsea Art MuseumChelsea Art MuseumThe Chelsea Art Museum is a contemporary art museum located at 556 West 22nd Street on the corner of Eleventh Avenue in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City....
, New York, NY, 2010. - The Importance of IN/VISIBILITY Recent work by Native American Artists living in New York City, Abrazo Interno Gallery, New York, NY, 2009.
- Native Voices: Contemporary Indigenous Art, Three Brooklyn Exhibitions, Kentler International Drawing Center, FiveMyles Gallery, Long Island University Salena and Humanities Gallery, New York, 2008.
- Mario Martinez and Steven Yazzie, Berlin Gallery, Heard MuseumHeard MuseumThe Heard Museum of Native Cultures and Art is a museum located in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. There is also the Heard Museum North Scottsdale branch in Scottsdale and the Heard Museum West branch in Surprise....
, Phoenix, AZ, 2007. - Native New Yorkers, NESUD Gallery, Suffolk UniversitySuffolk UniversitySuffolk University is a private, non-sectarian, university located in Boston, Massachusetts and with over 16,000 students it is the third largest university in Boston...
, Boston, MA, 2007. - New Tribe: New York: From Tradition to Transcendence, Mario Martinez Retrospective, National Museum of the American Indian, George Gustav Heye Center, New York City, NY, 2005.
- Home: Native People in the Southwest, Heard MuseumHeard MuseumThe Heard Museum of Native Cultures and Art is a museum located in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. There is also the Heard Museum North Scottsdale branch in Scottsdale and the Heard Museum West branch in Surprise....
, Phoenix, AZ, 2005. - Indian Market Show, Lewallen Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, 2003.
- Mario Martinez: The last San Francisco paintings, Cakewalk, Phoenix, Arizona, 2003.
- Contemporary Artists Federation group show, Saitama Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, Japan, 2002.
- AlieNation, AICH Gallery, NY, NY, 2002. Rewritings: Painting from Native America, Artfit Exhibition Space, Phoenix, Arizona, 2002.
- who stole the tepee?, National Museum of the American Indian, George Gustav Heye Center, New York, New York, 2000.
- Fall, Jan Cicero Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, 1999.
- Solo Show, American Indian Contemporary Arts Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 1998.
- The Fall Antiquities and Contemporary Art Show, Denver Art MuseumDenver Art MuseumThe Denver Art Museum is an art museum in Denver, Colorado located in Denver's Civic Center.It is known for its collection of American Indian art,and has a comprehensive collection numbering more than 68,000 works from across the world....
, Denver, CO, 1998. - Native Abstraction: Modern Forms Ancient Ideas, Museum of New Mexico: Museum of Indian Arts and CultureMuseum of Indian Arts and CultureThe Museum of Indian Arts and Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology is a museum of Native American art and culture located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is one of eight museums in the state operated by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and is accredited by the American Association of Museums...
, Santa Fe, NM, 1997. - We are Many, We are One, University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, Wisconsin, 1997.
- New Art from Native America, Center Gallery, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 1997.
- Honoring Diversity: Multicultural Perspectives, Koret Gallery, Palo Alto, CA, 1997.
- I Stand in the Center of the Good, American Indian Community House Gallery, New York, NY, 1996.
- Native Streams, Jan Cicero Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, Turman Art Gallery, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana, 1996-1997.
- Living Tapestry: Contemporary Native American Artists, Laney College Art Gallery, Oakland, CA, 1995.
- Mario Martinez: Visual Interpretations of Yaqui Myths and Legends, American Indian Contemporary Arts, San Francisco, CA, 1995.
- Artists Who Are Indian, Denver Art MuseumDenver Art MuseumThe Denver Art Museum is an art museum in Denver, Colorado located in Denver's Civic Center.It is known for its collection of American Indian art,and has a comprehensive collection numbering more than 68,000 works from across the world....
, Denver CO, 1995. - Expressions of Spirit, Wheelwright Museum, Santa Fe, NM, 1995.
- Books by Native Artists, American Indian Community House Gallery, New York, NY, 1994-1995.
- The Submuloc Show/Columbus Wohs, ATLATL and Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA, 1992-1994.
- We are Human Beings: 27 Contemporary Native American Artists, The College of Wooster Museum, Wooster, Ohio, 1992-1993.
Collections
- Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American IndianNational Museum of the American IndianThe National Museum of the American Indian is a museum operated under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution that is dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the native Americans of the Western Hemisphere...
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Chicago, Illinois
- Heard MuseumHeard MuseumThe Heard Museum of Native Cultures and Art is a museum located in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. There is also the Heard Museum North Scottsdale branch in Scottsdale and the Heard Museum West branch in Surprise....
, Phoenix, Arizona - City of Phoenix, City Hall Collection, Phoenix, Arizona
- City of Scottsdale, City Hall Collection, Scottsdale, Arizona Rockwell Museum, Corning, New York
- Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona
- University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
- Pacific Gas & Electric of California Standard Federal Bank, Burr Ridge, Illinois
- Snite Museum, University of Notre Dame, Indiana
Grants, Awards and Special Projects
- Art in Embassies Program collaborative print portfolio, National Museum of the American Indian & US State Department, 2007.
- Commission: Mural, Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ, 2003-2005.
- Native Artist in Residence Fellowship, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Museums, New York, NY, 2001-2002.
- Monothon, College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM, 2002.
- Heard Museum Print Workshop, Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ, 2001.
- Lasting Impressions, print portfolio, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 2001.
- Reopening the West, Rockwell Museum of Western Art, Corning, New York, 2001.
- Scottsdale/Penjamo Yaqui Mural Project, Scottsdale, AZ, 1999.
- Native Arts Research Fellowship, National Museum of the American Indian, NY, NY, awarded by ATLATL and the National Museum of the American Indian, 1998.
External links
- Mario Martinez, official website
- Art Ltd. Magazine
- Hearsight Magazine
- Maverick Arts Magazine
- Mario Martinez, Vision Project, by Heather Igloliorte