ARTIST STATEMENT
My work directly critiques the relationship between Latinx communities and Catholicism, and how it plays a part in perpetuating traditional gender roles that stifle women. My current work is a response to the growing voices of conservatives in my border town region, where religious views intermingle with local government and fuel generational machismo. My work is based on both my personal experiences and observations growing up Catholic in Brownsville, TX. For my two portrait paintings, I did an open call for phrases on Instagram from fellow Latinas; phrases often said at celebrations that undermine a girl or woman’s achievements.
After perfecting each painting, I “ruined” them with those bleeding words. My painting, “Free,” is a metaphor for divorce and religious deconstruction. Hands untie the ribbons of a wedding dress. It’s a sister painting to a similar composition titled, “Hostage,” in which hands are bound by rosaries. In “Free,” they are bound no longer but the wrists remain scarred. The work is meant to challenge local conservatives and people of rigid faith; to start questions and spark epiphanies from women who feel that they have lost their autonomy; and frankly, to try and move people into realizing the hurt they may be causing to their loved ones by pressuring them to conform and repeat cycles. This work is a form of my own resistance to the patriarchy. It is meant to provoke women into realizing that the choices they make for their lives should be entirely theirs.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Clarissa Martinez is a Mexican-American freelance illustrator and multidisciplinary artist from Brownsville, TX, where she also currently resides. She graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Art from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), and an MFA in Illustration Practice from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Her primary mediums include oils, watercolors, inks, digital painting, gif animation, and book arts. Her personal work often revolves around gender roles, critiques on Catholicism, personal trauma, self-healing and nature. Clarissa has had work shown in Baltimore, New York City, and in various parts of California and Texas.
As a freelance illustrator, her clients include AARP, Liberal Education Magazine, Walmart and Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages. She has experience in editorial illustration, mural illustration, and illustration for social media. She was part of the Spring 2024 session of the Poster Posse Protégé Program, a mentorship program for aspiring film poster artists and designers. Clarissa is a Lecturer I at UTRGV and adjunct instructor at Texas Southmost College, where she brings her education and experiences as a working artist to the classroom.
© Clarissa Martinez