Day 58: Monica Aissa Martinez

"The body is like a landscape of intricate structures, complex and full of variety. It’s a whole organization, made up of systems and connecting parts. I find it beautiful and poetic. As I go from shape-to-shape, work-to-work, I find myself searching deep within its nooks and crannies. Where is its source? Is there a narrative? I am interested in the physical body and the subtle body, both. I am drawn to the language of myth and symbol – feminine and masculine, emotion and logic, circle and line, horizontal (heavens and spirit) and vertical (earth and body) I use line, shape, space and color to represent complex connections between body, mind and connecting spirit." Martinez earned a Master in Fine Arts from New Mexico State University, Las Cruces and a Bachelor in Fine Arts from the University of Texas at El Paso. She is an adjunct professor of art at Phoenix College. Monica has exhibited widely in museums and galleries including Between Earth and Sky: Contemporary Art From the American Southwest in China and at the ASU Art Museum, Tempe, Drawing with Everything, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Museum, Connections to the Natural World, LA Artcore Brewery Annex, Los Angeles and notably State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now, Crystal Bridges Museum, Bentonville AR. Her work is found in both public and private collections throughout the United States.

Nothing in Stases - Male Torso

Nothing in Stasis - Male torso on paper 

Nothing in Stasis - Female Torso Canvas

Nothing in Stasis - Female large work on paper