Manifest Gallery : "Transcendence"

Manifest Gallery is a non-profit neighborhood gallery located in Cincinnati, Ohio that strives to make a positive community impact and engage both artists and the public in visual arts. Manifest had an open call for artists to submit work to be a part of an exhibition titled “Transcendence.” The show centered around works of art that addressed transcendence, subjects/forms that go beyond the ordinary. 83 artists responded to the open call by submitting 292 works from 29 states, Washington D.C., and 8 countries, including Canada, Denmark, England, Puerto Rico, Russia, Singapore, Ukraine, and the United States to be judged by a blind jury to be featured in the gallery and the Manifest Exhibition Annual publication. The jury selected 20 works by 13 artists from 8 states, Canada, and Denmark to be featured in the show. “Transcendence” was shown from November 8 - December 6, 2019 in the main gallery and drawing room of Manifest Gallery. Pamela Martinez’s art was shown along with the works of Helmut Amann, Cameran Ashraf, Camilla Augustinus, Kevin Dotson, Richard Ferncase, Hannah K. Freeman, Eric Heffington, Clive Moloney, Laura Noel, Holly Pennington, Snail Scott, and Jennifer Wilson.

Martinez’s piece, titled “Observed and Recorded Permutations of The Holy Spirit XI” (shortened as OARPOTHS) was selected and featured in the “Transcendence” exhibition at Manifest Gallery. This is a series of works focused around portraits of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the trinity. Each piece within the series literally depicts the abstract Holy Spirit as forms inspired by the weather. Martinez chose to approach her art with a subtractive process to symbolize the “permanent, yet invisible, Holy Spirit” (termed by art writer Roberta Carasso). Her process moves between building up form, linear marks with Pan Pastels on Duralar, an industrial paper referred to as film, then using various erasers to subtract. Each large image within the series takes one month to create, working for 8 hours a day for 6 days of the week. 

“Observed and Recorded Permutations of The Holy Spirit XI” is a 36 inch x 81 inch pastel and powdered graphite erasing on Duralar. This piece was inspired by the movement of plants underwater along with coral. OARPOTHS XI depicts the form and presence of the Holy Spirit as a form of wind. Martinez’s piece displays how the Holy Spirit can transcend beyond Christian theology and text by being present on Earth amongst and within people. The Holy Spirit is typically thought of as invisible. Martinez explores what the Holy Spirit would look like if he was visible and how his form can transcend traditional notions.