Highlights of the MOLAA Collection
Narsiso Martinez, Hollywood & Vine, 2022
ABOUT THE ARTWORK
Narsiso Martínez´s work often addresses themes of immigration, labor, and the experiences of marginalized communities, particularly those of Mexican and Latinx immigrants in the United States. Using a variety of media, including painting, installation, and drawing, Martínez creates works that are both visually striking and socially charged, challenging viewers to confront issues of inequality and cultural erasure.
Hollywood & Vine evokes the glamour and spectacle of Hollywood, a district synonymous with fame and success, yet Martínez subverts this association by focusing on the lives of the people who make these glamorous realities possible—often through hard, invisible labor. In Hollywood & Vine, Martínez creates a visual narrative that critiques the romanticized image of the American Dream, revealing the disparities and struggles faced by immigrants, especially those working in low-wage, high-exploitation industries.
BIOGRAPHY
Narsiso Martinez currently lives and works in Long Beach, California. His drawings and mixed-media installations feature multi-figure compositions set amidst agricultural landscapes, drawing upon his personal farm work experience. Martinez’s art features the underserved labor class painted on discarded fruits and vegetable boxes collected from grocery stores. Narsiso’s work is informed by Social Realism, the use of found materials, the labor conditions of the “American farmworker,” and the overuse of undocumented workers. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree in drawing and painting from California State University and was awarded the prestigious Dedalus Foundation MFA Fellowship in Painting and Sculpture. He is featured in the permanent collections of Buffalo AKG Art Museum, the Hammer Museum, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, MOLAA, University of Arizona Museum of Art, Long Beach Museum of Art, Crocker Art Museum, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon, and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Martinez earned the Frieze Impact Award in 2023.
NARSISO MARTINEZ
(Mexico, 1977)
Hollywood & Vine, 2022
Ink, charcoal, gouache, and acrylic on produce boxes
97.5 x 63.5 inches
Accession: 2023
