Meet Romulo Martinez | Visual Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Romulo Martinez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Romulo, why did you pursue a creative career?
I believe that each of us are born with many talents to develop in life, but there is always a particular talent that calls out to you, that peeks out from every corner, that continually directly or indirectly makes itself present to be remembered and kept in mind. And among those talents, the particular talent that I decided to develop was artistic creation, under the various techniques that I learned with academic training and those that I have developed by myself.

After having completed a university degree in public accounting, I had that void of not having studied at a professional level the career I had always dreamed of, fine arts. It was then that 2 years after graduating, I armed myself with courage, and decided to do a degree in fine arts, facing the opposition from my family and friends.

With more than 17 years dedicating myself to artistic creation, I feel the conviction in my being that I was born to do visual arts. And beyond the enjoyment of observing the works made by other artists, my greatest enjoyment is creating them: starting with an idea/concept, and then looking for all the ingenuity (techniques and materials) to make them.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My work reflects on introspective situations of a personal and collective nature, with the intention of being able to approach ourselves, to know and understand us. It is a work that is born from my life experiences as a foreigner, which gives the work certain autobiographical nuances, but also with the awareness that each work is universal and human so that, without distinction of races, religion, social status and political ideologies, the viewers can see themselves reflected in it, as if it were a mirror.

In the messages or situations that I represent, I always seek to capture them in a positive and optimistic way so that we all find learning about overcoming and emotional stability towards our past and present, outlining the future.

In relation to representation, my work is characterized by the personification of characters within introspective contexts accompanied by object and natural elements that, like satellites around them, narrate a situation, a story in which we can feel identified and therefore portrayed in the work in accordance with our experiences, or on the contrary, to be able to nurture the work with a personal perspective, which may be different from mine.

My work is full of color, which acquires a symbolic connotation to accompany and emphasize the concept captured. They are vibrant and strident colors among them, which together with the represented elements give narrative and dialogue.

As an artist, I enjoy integrating a variety of techniques with their own inherent materials on the same support, in order to create different atmospheres, nuances and transitions from one element to another. That is why in my work you can see drawing, painting, graphic arts such as collage and serigraphy, and assembly.
I am an artist committed to my works, as long as I have the mental and physical capacity to make them, I will do it. I give myself completely in each artistic creation that I make without distinction of dimensions or materials. Each work, no matter how silly it sounds, has my heart and my being, with its strengths and weaknesses, with my dreams and frustrations, each work is a part of me.

Seeing where I am today confirms what I have always had in mind throughout my career: that effort and perseverance pay off. My path as an artist in the world of visual arts has not been easy, it has been a path with beautiful flowers, but some of them with thorns. But dreaming of seeing my dreams come true, has been the column to support me and keep me whole with what I want, without looking at the adversities that have arisen or may arise. Believing in myself, following my instincts and working honestly towards my own work and with the people who make up the art world, are the lessons learned that I put into practice every day of my life.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The DFW area has an extense offer of great things to know, experience and enjoy, there are many alternatives to see and enjoy, both art and entertainment. A first-time art lover in Dallas can’t miss out on art district museums like the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nasher Sculpture Center, and the Crow Museum of Asian Art, which boast excellent collections and eye-catching temporary exhibits, and if the preference is contemporary arts, I will take them to the Dallas Contemporary and to the West Dallas area, a flourishing part of the city that has several galleries, multiple artist studios, and great murals of various styles and representations by local artists. The visit would continue to Fort Worth which not only has an excellent cultural district, but also has a good number of downtown galleries to enjoy.

Finally, and speaking of recreation, I really enjoy walking, eating and having a few drinks in Deep Ellum and the Bishop Arts District, where colors, sounds, flavors and aromas are part of the experience with excellent offers of locally owned restaurants, bars and shops that invite you to visit and buy independent design and fun creations from new growing talent.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My personal history as a visual artist is written by my works (born from my mind and materialized with my hands) and by the support of different people who have appeared in my life over the years to support me and provide me with opportunities to exhibit them. On a sentimental level, I owe everything to my husband Carlos Palencia, who with his advice, empathy and his constant company throughout this path that I decided to undertake within the arts, has always given me his unconditional support to materialize my creative dreams. And on a professional level, there are many people who, with their careers and academic training, have supported and nurtured my works with their particular/individual visions and understandings of art. In Venezuela, I had the joy of carrying out various exhibition projects in different museums and cultural centers curated by renowned researchers in the fine arts such as Martin Sanchez, Jimmy Yanez, Victor Fuenmayor, Lucrecia Arvelaez and Clemente Martinez.

And here, in these North American lands, I owe a great deal to professor and art researcher Julie Shipp for her interest in the potential of my work to develop an exhibition, curated by her, at the Collin College Plano Campus Art Gallery, a space that gave me the opportunity to hold the LOOKING FOR SIGNS exhibition that in turn gave me visibility as an artist in the DFW area, visibility that led me to meet a great entrepreneur, art advocate and gallery owner Daisha Board, who currently represents me as an artist at her Gallery and where I had my latest solo exhibition entitled REFLEJOS held last May. The opportunity to work with Daisha Board Gallery allows me to continue dreaming of creating my work, pushing myself even further, staying true to my voice and working professionally as an artist.

Website: romulomartinez.com

Instagram: instagram.com/_romulomartinez

Facebook: facebook.com/romulomartinezart