Patrick Martinez is a multidisciplinary artist who creates works that act as excavations of language, belonging, and the visual-cultural systems of the city of Los Angeles, in order to create dialogues concerning the ongoing residue of gentrification. Throughout his practice, he uses materials and modes of address recognizable within neighborhoods that face the threat of removal and erasure—neon signage, birthday cakes, security fences, ceramic roses, and various ephemera unearthed from a rapidly changing city. Martinez’s works counteract forgetting and its effects by elevating historical figures, figures from hip-hop culture, and people who may not have conventional recognition, including those who have succumbed to the injustices of police brutality and immigration policies. In this talk, he will share works from multiple intersections of his practice, with an emphasis on sculptural paintings, figurative works, and how they support the possibility of sending direct messages to communities.

For more information, visit artsdesign.berkeley.edu.

Presented by the UC Berkeley Department of Art Practice.