Both documentarian and iconoclast, Mauro C. Martinez examines internet culture through the lens of traditional painting while simultaneously scrutinizing the medium and the tradition of painting itself.
By virtue of their unlikely pairing, Martinez weighs the online image against the painted image, unpacking their inherent value systems and adjusting his practice to mirror the collective ethos of his subjects and the digital spaces they inhabit. Going beyond memes, Martinez references the gamut: cursed images, niche fetish subcultures, shitpost account admins, AI generated images and appropriated UI graphics like Instagram’s “Sensitive Content” and “False Information” filters.
Working prototypically rather than serially, and careful to champion no particular style, Martinez is able to meet his varied subjects on their own terms. Mauro C. Martinez attempts to make a redemptive case for painting’s continual potency as a historical and anthropological tool — painting is not dead.
