Bowdoin College Museum of Art

Preview image of work. colored pencil, charcoal and oil pastel on paper, Urban Presence 44215

2021.66.1

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Urban Presence

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Artist

Mario Martinez (Phoenix, Arizona, )

Title

Urban Presence

Creation Date

2006-2013

Century

21st century

Dimensions

24 x 19 in. (60.96 x 48.26 cm)

Object Type

drawing

Creation Place

North America, United States

Medium and Support

colored pencil, charcoal and oil pastel on paper

Credit Line

Museum Purchase, Laura T. and John H. Halford, Jr. Art Acquisition Fund and funds contributed by an anonymous donor

Copyright

This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s Copyright Terms and Conditions.

Accession Number

2021.66.1

Mario Martinez is an artist from Penjamo, the smallest of six Yaqui settlements, in Scottsdale, Arizona. After an early art career in San Francisco, he moved to New York City in 2002. One of today’s leading abstract artists, Martinez creates densely layered surfaces and uses rich palettes in both his painting and drawing practice. His artworks combine cosmic images, abstractions of animal and plant life, and traditional Yaqui iconography. These elements are visible in Urban Presence, a drawing created after his move to New York. As a Yaqui artist working in an urban environment far removed from his home in Arizona, Martinez creates work that both intervenes in the history of abstract art and reflects upon his own sense of belonging in the world.