April 28 - July 29, 2022
IF we were to parse this title, we’d ask for the meaning of “truth” and “self,” and perhaps most contentious, the significance of “my” or “mine.” I’m interested, however, in the ordinary language sense of this statement. How do we understand it?
EACH of the four artists in this exhibition interprets the phrase differently, but primarily in relation to their art. It is enlightening to look at their individual works here, at least once, through the lens of their statements.
THE title reminds me of the impetus behind the founding of the Martinez Gallery in April 2001, namely, my desire to foreground the work of Latino artists without neglecting the art of others I liked. Because of the Latino connection, the Gallery has also become known as a site that encourages artists from groups often disregarded by mainstream galleries. As a result, the Gallery has grown in exhibiting a broad array of artists from different backgrounds and ethnicities.
DESPITE being a commercial gallery, at the start I decided to present artists whose work I admired or thought significant, and not merely be guided by an artist’s commercial appeal. Being true to myself has been performing with this notion as a guiding principle.
Introduction by Laudelina Martinez, Curator
Hannah Davis, Curatorial Assistant
True to myself, I love painting the figure as well as the mundane. The images that I create, mostly about my cultural heritage and identity, speak about truth… my truth. Expressive in nature, bold, filled with irony, allegory and sometimes parody, my attempt is to remain as authentic as I possibly can in my vision as a painter. I derive great joy in the process of creation and/or invention. Filled with freedom and unencumbered by rules, my images dance all over the canvas always revealing a narrative. This is my way and my inspiration.
Roxanna Melendez
Pensativa, 2022
Oil on Canvas
48 x 24"
$2,900
Roxanna Melendez
Nostalgia, 2022
Oil on Canvas
48 x 24"
$3,300
Roxanna Melendez
Sabado a las 3PM, 2022
Oil on Canvas
40 x 30"
$3,000
Roxanna Melendez
Hace un Tiempo Atras, 2022
Oil on Canvas
30 x 40"
$3,500
Roxanna Melendez
La Lumbrera, 2022
Mixed Media on Canvas
24 x 18"
$2,750
Roxanna Melendez
Pedro, 2022
Oil on Canvas
48 x 24"
$3,300
Roxanna Melendez
Ay, Que lindos los Pichones, 2022
Oil on Canvas
30 x 40"
NFS
Roxanna Melendez
Ese Pobre Lechon, 2022
Oil on Canvas
40 x 30"
$2,700
Roxanna Melendez
At the Circus, 2020
Oil on Canvas
24 x 26"
$2,850
Roxanna Melendez
Pasando el Tiempo, 2022
Oil on Canvas
30 x 40"
$3,500
True to myself means having the courage to create, to make a mark, even if one is unsure of the outcome. It means to jump not really knowing if critical acclaim will catch you.
George Simmons
Cudjoe 1, 2022
Digital Drawing, Archival Inkjet Print
14 x 11," Unframed
$450 + Shipping
George Simmons
Oblation 1, 2022
Digital Drawing, Archival Inkjet Print
14 x 11," Unframed
$450 + Shipping
George Simmons
Blueprint 1, 2021
Digital Drawing, Archival Inkjet Print
14 x 11," Unframed
$450 + Shipping
George Simmons
Dancing on Smoke, 2021
Digital Drawing, Archival Inkjet Print
14 x 11," Unframed
$450 + Shipping
George Simmons
Eden Walk 1, 2021
Digital Drawing, Archival Inkjet Print
14 x 11," Unframed
$450 + Shipping
George Simmons
After the Split 1, 2022
Digital Drawing, Archival Inkjet Print
14 x 11," Unframed
$450 + Shipping
George Simmons
Eden Walk 3, 2021
Digital Drawing, Archival Inkjet Print
14 x 11," Unframed
$450 + Shipping
George Simmons
Skull, 2021
Digital Drawing, Archival Inkjet Print
14 x 11," Unframed
$450 + Shipping
George Simmons
Forest Repose, 2021
Digital Drawing, Archival Inkjet Print
14 x 11," Unframed
$450 + Shipping
George Simmons
Oblation 2, 2022
Digital Drawing, Archival Inkjet Print
14 x 11," Unframed
$450 + Shipping
George Simmons
Shoat, 2021
Digital Drawing, Archival Inkjet Print
14 x 11," Unframed
$450 + Shipping
George Simmons
Tree, 2021
Digital Drawing, Archival Inkjet Print
14 x 11," Unframed
$450 + Shipping
What I feel compelled to paint is rarely an observed landscape, an identifiable figure, or specific assembled objects in a still life. Rather, to be true to myself, I paint "frames" from the films in my head which these subjects connote or suggest. By so doing, I'm making films, just one frame at a time...
Gary Masline
Awaiting a Decision, 2017
Oil on Canvas
24 x 18"
$1,900
Gary Masline
The Mourners, 2021
Oil on Canvas
11 x 14"
$1,750
Gary Masline
Who? Why?, 2016
Oil on Canvas
11 x 14"
$1,550
Gary Masline
Disconnected, 2013
Oil on Canvas
10 x 30"
SOLD
Gary Masline
Twisted, 2006
Oil on Canvas
36 x 18"
$2,100
Gary Masline
Out on the Prairie, 2021
Oil on Canvas
20 x 20"
NFS
Gary Masline
Avarice, 2008
Oil on Canvas
18 x 24"
$2,100
Gary Masline
Of Ruins and Resilience, 2022
Oil on Canvas
16 x 12"
$1,700
Gary Masline
Out West, 1999
Oil on Canvas
36 x 60"
$4,500
Gary Masline
Snow White Takes Manhattan, 2013
Oil on Canvas
20 x 20"
$2,900
As an immigrant, I stayed True To Myself with the powerful idea of taking down frontiers, fences, border crossings, elements that divide us and turn all the material from these dividers into works of arts. For the last 6 years, I've been collecting material from border crossings at various locations from around the world.
Alexis Mendoza
Days are one, 2020
Mixed Media on Repurposed Wood
29 x 22"
$5,000
Alexis Mendoza
Thousands More, 2021
Mixed Media on Repurposed Wood
38.75 x 20.5"
$4,000
Alexis Mendoza
Let them come, 2021
Mixed Media on Repurposed Wood
34.5 x 24.25"
$5,500
Alexis Mendoza
There will be no..., 2021
Mixed Media on Repurposed Wood
29.25 x 22"
$4,000
Alexis Mendoza
M. O. T. C. E. 34, 2021
Mixed Media on Paper, Unframed
14" x 11"
$400 + Shipping
Alexis Mendoza
M. O. T. C. E. 50, 2021
Mixed Media on Paper, Unframed
14" x 11"
$400 + Shipping
Alexis Mendoza
M. O. T. C. E. 12, 2021
Mixed Media on Paper, Unframed
14" x 11"
$400 + Shipping
Alexis Mendoza
M. O. T. C. E. 62, 2021
Mixed Media on Paper, Unframed
14" x 11"
$400 + Shipping
Alexis Mendoza
M. O. T. C. E. 19, 2021
Mixed Media on Paper, Unframed
14" x 11"
$400 + Shipping
Alexis Mendoza
Horizonte, 2020
Mixed Media on Repurposed Wood
31.25 x 25.5"
$5,500
Alexis Mendoza
Help Point, 2020
Mixed Media on Repurposed Wood
39.25 x 21.25"
$5,500
Alexis Mendoza
The seeds of the Future Glories, 2020
Mixed Media on Repurposed Wood
31.25 x 25.5"
$5,500
Alexis Mendoza
Today is the Making of Tomorrow, 2021
Mixed Media on Repurposed Wood
30.5 x 24"
$5,500
Roxanna Melendez is a visual artist, who often uses Caribbean themes in her paintings. Born in Puerto Rico, she graduated with an MSW from Columbia University and studied art at Hunter College and at The ArtStudents League.
George Simmons is an Upstate New York artist who focuses on printmaking, painting, and fine art photography. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin with an MFA in studio art, Simmons exhibits regionally and has been the recipient of photography awards.
Gary Masline is a landscape and figurative artist, whose works present wide and expansive American panoramas in which humans try to toil. His background includes training in the law, a career as a government official, and active participation in a community of Upstate New York artists.
Since arriving in New York City from Cuba in the mid 1990’s, Alexis Mendoza has carved a path as a painter, art writer, and independent curator. He trained as a conservator and graduated from university in Havana. He exhibits in museums and galleries worldwide.
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