Chicano artist César A. Martínez honored with major El Paso retrospective
César A. Martínez, La Tortuga, 2021, signed top left; signed, dated, titled, and measurements on the reverse. Acrylic on Muslin, 28 x 22 in, 71.1 x 55.9 cm.
SAN ANTONIO, TX.—
Ruiz-Healy Art congratulates gallery artist César A. Martínez on his exhibition, El Otro Camino: An Intimate Portrait of César A. Martínez, the first large-scale, comprehensive exhibition of the acclaimed Chicano artist in the El Paso Southwest region. Organized by the MACC and guest-curated by Diana Molina, the selections are drawn primarily from the artist’s personal collection created between 1975 and 2026, offering an intimate glimpse into Martínez’s work as a painter, printmaker, sculptor, photographer, and collage artist. This exhibition marks milestones in his prolific career, showcasing iconic selections from his “Batos y Rucas,” “Serape,” “Mestizo,” and “South Texas” series. The exhibition will be on view from August 22, 2026, to January 24, 2027.
Martínez was born in Laredo, Texas, in 1944, and graduated from Texas A&I University in Kingsville in 1968. He now lives and works in San Antonio, Texas. A significant figure in the late 1970s and 1980s Chicano Art Movement, Martínez is an icon in Mexican American art history. Deeply rooted in his native South Texas and its Mexican American culture, Martínez’s work reflects a broad knowledge of the Western art canon and finds inspiration from color-field paintings, Mexican architecture, and photography. Martínez offsets his melancholic subjects against a vibrant palette of clothes, in tension with abstract backgrounds. The individuals in Martínez’s works are merely hybrids derived from and elaborated from archival photographs found in high school yearbooks, obituaries, newspapers, and other public sources.
Prestigious institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY; and The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., have recently acquired his work. His work is also part of the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Art Museum, Brooklyn, NY; The Cheech Center, Riverside, CA; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX; San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX; and the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, Chicago, IL.
César A. Martínez receives Art League Houston's 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award
Since 1983, Art League Houston (ALH) has led the celebration of contemporary art in Texas through its annual awards program. In 2026, ALH honors four exceptional individuals whose impact has shaped the state's cultural and philanthropic landscape, including Martínez, who will receive the 2026 Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts. In recognition of the awards, Art League Houston will present a solo exhibition by Martínez from September 18 to December 20, 2026, accompanied by a publication developed in collaboration with the artist.
