POW MARTINEZ: Grandiose Delusions in D Minor

The humanoid figures that Pow Martinez mixes with the environment present the conventional roles of contemporary society. He connects reality with unreality, or two different realities: the real and natural with the internet and digital. He combines everyday elements with other more wild and atypical ones.

The artist's work stands out for the great expressiveness of his figures, with striking and exaggerated faces, which he presents in surreal scenarios. They also draw from different sources of inspiration and evoke dreamlike and fantastic landscapes with elements that might as well not belong to reality. Philippine culture is also very present in his representations, from pre-colonial to 20th century art. Mythology, folklore and Philippine history are part of his iconography, as well as other cultures, with which he plays and intermingles expressionist and surrealist influences that distort reality. Part of this imagery, unearthed from the most classical Renaissance, may allude to scenes such as Salome with the head of St. John the Baptist or Perseus himself with the head of Medusa.

And so, Pow Martinez also introduces 21st century pop culture into his paintings, as a portrayal of social roles in a somewhat grotesque manner. The consumption of contemporary culture is represented by recurring figures of demonic, hybrid or mutant appearance, highlighted with bright colors that mark the artist's style. Some of these scenes may look like nightmares, but they are “beautiful nightmares” that reflect the actions of human beings.

About the artist:

Pow Martinez is a Filipino artist (1983) known for his expressionistic style of painting, blending bold colors with demonic, mutant-like characters to create compelling canvases. Often resembling a beautiful nightmare, Martinez combines the mundanities of everyday life with elements of pop culture, resulting in darkly humorous works depicting society’s overconsumption.

Martinez is a recipient of the 2010 Ateneo Art Award for his exhibition 1 Billion Years at West Gallery, Philippines. He exhibits internationally and has worked with different media, from painting to sound. His recent exhibitions include State of Flux (2023) at Silverlens New York; City Prince/sses (2019) at Palais de Tokyo in Paris; Art Jakarta 2019 with Silverlens and ROH Projects; 50 Years in Hollywood (2019) at Pinto Art Museum in New York; Art Basel Hong Kong 2019 with Silverlens; WXXX (2019), West Gallery, Manila. Martinez has also held a number of solo shows in major galleries in Manila, the most recent of which is Clunker (2022) at Silverlens Manila. Early in 2022, Martinez had his first solo exhibition in Madrid entitled Underground Spiritual Unit at Galeria Yusto/ Giner. In 2018, he had a solo exhibition in Indonesia. Titled Aesthetic Police, the exhibition is an outcome of his month-long
residency program at OPQRStudio in Bandung.

On the cover: Pow Martinez, Head of state
Oil on canvas
182.9h x 152,4w cm
72h x 60w in
© 2024 Pow Martinez
By courtesy of the artist and the Yusto/Giner Gallery

Source: Yusto/Giner Gallery