"a wire, a thread" BY MAR MARTINEZ VIA ART AND HISTORY MUSEUMS - MAITLAND
Mär Martinez (Instagram | Website) spent a year walking the streets of Istanbul at night, and what she saw became the foundation for a new body of paintings now coming home to Central Florida. Martinez, a UCF alum and Fulbright scholar, presents a loom, a fence, a wire, a thread at the Art & History Museums of Maitland (Website) beginning with a free opening reception on Friday, April 24, and runs through July 5.
It’s her first solo museum exhibition, but she’s no stranger to the campus, having completed a Studio Artist Residency at A&H from 2021 to 2023.
The work draws on traditional Turkish and Middle Eastern textile practices, and layers those historic patterns alongside the harder imagery she encountered during her Fulbright research: surveillance infrastructure, hostile architecture, and the visual language of restriction. The paintings were made in Istanbul and New York, and this exhibition marks a leap forward in her practice as a painter.
The opening night is free, and Martinez will be in attendance. DJ Nigel John will be spinning vinyl, La Patrona Tacos & Birria House will roll up with a food truck, and there will be a cash bar with proceeds supporting A&H programs.
