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.
Nominate Me:
(Voting resets every day at 12 a.m. America/Chicago.)
Upcoming \ Currently On View
Curations Upcoming: June, August, November 2026
Solo Exhibition: September 2026
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
PARDON OUR DUST: 21st CENTURY TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, assemblage, photo credit Carlos Ferrand, 2024
“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
“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
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
"Flesh wound," foamboard cut out, featured in the two-person exhibition “Profiling Made Visible,” curated by David S. Rubin at the Bihl Haus Arts, photo credit Luis M. Garza, 2016
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.”