Mark Anthony Martinez, MFA
Visual Artist \ Curator
b. 1987BFA; Intermedia, Pacific Northwest College of Art, 2012
MFA; Contemporary Art Practices, Portland State University, 2014Based in San Antonio, TX
Artist Statement
My works revolve around contemporary anxieties pertaining to war, environmental degradation and cultural erasure through assimilation. I employ self-portraiture, text and installation to make such heavy concepts more approachable. Moreover, my practice is heavily informed by science fiction media and US history. Through it all, it is my hope that an audience is as eager to dissect and reflect on these rich concepts within the relatively safe environment of the studio. I strive to find like minds with similar concerns in order to imagine a future removed from such bigotries and nihilism.
Upcoming \ Currently On View
Intersecciónes is a gathering rooted not in aesthetic alignment, but in shared impact. The artists in this exhibition do not converge through style, medium, or visual language. Instead, they meet at a more pivotal crossing point which is opportunity.Each individual in this space played a role in opening a door for me, from offering access, visibility, encouragement, or trust at critical moments in my early path within the art world. Their gestures, whether large or quiet, altered my trajectory. This exhibition honors those moments of intersection where generosity meets readiness, and where one artist’s extension of space becomes another’s beginning.Rather than presenting an unified visual narrative Intersecciónes embraces difference. The diversity of practices reflects the reality of creative ecosystems. Influence does not require similarity. Inspiration does not demand replication. What connects us is not how our work looks, but how our lives and careers have overlapped in meaningful ways.This show exists as an acknowledgment that no artistic journey is singular. It is shaped by conversations, invitations, shared rooms, and opened thresholds. By bringing these artists together, I aim to highlight the invisible architecture of support that sustains creative communities.
Intersecciónes is both gratitude and continuation, a recognition that access, once given, carries the responsibility to extend it forward.
Curations Upcoming: June, August, November 2026
Solo Exhibition: Cactus Barn, Fall 2026; Et Hus, Winter 2027; The Carver Summer 2027
Video Work
A collection of relevant video works and documentation of previous installations. See my Vimeo for more info.
"I'M NOT A COWBOY...," solo exhibition documentation, Clamp Light Artist Studios & Gallery, 2024
“Reverse Manifest Destiny,” video installation, originally created for the group show “IM\MATERIAL CONCERNS\,” 1906, San Antonio.
“art/worker,” video performance on PVM, created for the group show “ART/WORKER,” curated by Michael Martinez then selected for the curation “Vernacular Systems,” curated by Christopher Blay, 2024
“i did it to myself,” solo exhibition video pile documentation of “the doom scroll,” in the project space JANUARY, 2023.
SPECTRE, single channel video installation, exhibiting in tandem with the classic theatre’s production of “Measure for Measure,” San Antonio, 2023
“Brown Sugar,” A three hour performance neutralizing the radical within the artist; culminating in a “safer” brown hue. Originally performed at Recess, a project space in Portland, OR.
Visual Art Documentation
A portfolio of previously exhibited visual works and documentation of installations. See my instagram or follow me on Blue Sky (links below) for more information on upcoming studio happenings.
WHAT IS THE SHAPE OF AN ALBATROSS, installation view, 2026
WHAT IS THE SHAPE OF AN ALBATROSS, detail view of graduation cap & F-14, 2026
grasping at straws, a solo show by mark anthony martinez, 2025
grasping at straws, a solo show by mark anthony martinez, 2025
why do my eyes hurt (Neo to Morpheus), crayon, ink on paper, 12" x 9", 2025
I’M NOT A COWBOY…, install shot, photo credit Carlos Ferrand 2024
“i did it to myself,” solo exhibition installation view at the project space JANUARY, 2023. Photo credit: Luis M Garza, 2023
“i did it to myself,” solo exhibition installation view at the project space JANUARY, 2023. Photo credit: Luis M Garza, 2023
“No New White Friends,” neon art (fabrication credit King of Neon) (c/o Casie Lomeli’s Collection) and “art/worker,” video performance on PVM, as featured at the SA Contemporary for the curation “Vernacular Systems,” curated by Christopher Blay, 2024
installation view at FREIGHT gallery & studios, as ft. in the group exhibition "Images of Power," co-curated by Alana Coates, 2018"
"(off) white power," neon courtesy of the "King of Neon", Courtesy Manuel Diz’ collection, 2017
installation view at Mexic-Arte, as featured in the group exhibition “YLA 22: AHORA,” curated by Alana Coates, fabrication credit King of Neon, photo credit Andrea Rampone, 2017
CREAM, MFA thesis exhibition. 2014
Artist Biography
Mark Anthony Martinez is a conceptual artist, independent curator and fine arts educator based here in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas. Martinez holds a BFA in Intermedia Arts from the Pacific Northwest College of Art (2012) and an MFA in Studio Art from Portland State University (2014). He currently adjuncts at Our Lady of the Lake University, for the Visual arts & New media program (2025 – Present).Through his studio practice, he’s exhibited in numerous group shows locally and nationally, including; The Contemporary at Blue Star, San Antonio, TX (2024), Centro de Artes, San Antonio, TX (2020), The Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center Inc., New York, NY (2019), Mexic-Arte in Austin, TX. (2017) and, Co-Prosperity Sphere, Chicago, Il. (2014).Martinez has served as Visual Arts Director to the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center (2015-2017), Gallery Manager for the Michael and Noemi Neidorff Art Gallery at Trinity University (2018), co-curator pop-up space, Fake Gallery (2019), co-director of JANUARY (2023) and currently co-curator to both INTERLOPER GALLERY and the S.M.A.R.T. Project Space; respective visual arts incubators within the “1906 Studio.”