These 6 small paintings by Monica Aissa Martinez are from a larger body of work titled Relationships: the ebb and flow. The series developed out of the artists’ curiosity about relationships and noticing how men and women interact and connect, or react and disconnect, with each other. Initially the artists' focus was on the relationship between male and female, and the external expression of this idea. Gradually and naturally the concept evolved and the study became more internalized for the artist. The focal point became more concerned with the metaphysical idea of the masculine and the feminine, and the energies that make up the individual. This study has led Martinez to conclude that the external form of the relationship, what appears in the world, is only an extension of an internal more important reality, the relationship with self. For her, one suggests the other.
These sometimes-complicated abstract ideas are what compose these light hearted, playful abstract works. The medium is casein and/or egg tempera on linen and canvas.
Martinez who currently lives and works in Phoenix earned her master of fine arts degree from New Mexico State University in 1991. Her paintings, drawings and prints have been exhibited nationally and are part of numerous private and public collections including the Mesa Arts Center, City of Glendale Arts Collection, City of Phoenix Arts Collection, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Arizona State University, New Mexico State University and Brigham Young University. Her work has been published in three books through the Hispanic Research Center and Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingue of Arizona State University.
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