MOCA GA Instagram Takeover

The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (MOCA GA) is hosting the Celebrating Georgia Artists of Hispanic/Latinx Origin Series exhibition. Pamela Diaz Martinez was selected to be a featured artist in the exhibition out of 160 applicants. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, artists and visitors can’t physically go to the museum. MOCA GA has adapted to this circumstance by turning to a virtual exhibition and Instagram takeovers to celebrate the artists and their work. 

On July 8 (between 3 - 7 pm), Martinez took over the MOCA GA Instagram posts and stories to exhibit her featured piece in the exhibition as well as provide insight into her career and current works. She posted pictures of her work, the process behind it, and the inspiration for it. For the Instagram stories, Martinez created original content by filming two videos to share. One video was an interview with Carol and Worth Talley, collectors of the artwork featured in the show. The other video was an interview with Cecilia Montalvo and Charlie McCullers, her current collaborators. Below are pictures from Martinez’s Instagram posts on the MOCA GA account and a screen recording of her Instagram story takeover. The official exhibition statement from MOCA GA, along with links to each of the featured artists, is attached at the bottom of the post.

Observed and Recorded Permutation of The Holy Spirit XIV / La Permutacion del Espiritu Santo Observado y Grabado XIV

Martinez’s art piece featured in the MOCA GA exhibition.

These are some close up shots of my artwork from the “Observed and Recorded Permutations of The Holy Spirit” series. What you’re looking at is pastel on Dura-lar. The marks were made with 20-30 different erasers.

A look into my materials • Referring to Jesus, John the Baptist says, “He must increase and I must decrease.” Scripture is the philosophical vantage point from which I work. I used 20-30 different erasers to remove the pastel from the Dura-lar. Contrary to belief, none of these erasers were electric. 90% of the time that it took to create these pieces were spent painstakingly erasing.

Celebrating Georgia Artists of Hispanic/Latinx Origin Series

Sep 5, 2020 - Oct 31, 2020

11pm - 5pm

Prior to the Covid 19 virus, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (MOCA GA) in partnership with the Latin American Association organized the exhibition Celebrating Georgia Artists of Hispanic/Latinx Origin to spotlight significant contributions to contemporary art by 37 talented Georgia artists. MOCA GA is committed to showcasing these artists within the physical gallery space.  We are currently working on a plan to feature 3-4 consecutive exhibitions in our entrance gallery.  More information will be added to the website as plans move forward.

We are thrilled to have had approximately 650 artworks submitted by 160 artists from 51 Georgia cities and towns across 27 Georgia counties. While we remain closed, please find below links to images and artists’ information for this exhibition so that you may enjoy this exhibition remotely until the current health crisis subsides.

Cuban-born, Atlanta artist Alexi Torres, in conjunction with MOCA GA Director Annette Cone-Skelton had the difficult task of jurying this highly competitive call. Each juror diligently examined all entries and carefully selected artists to best represent the diversity and expertise inherent in this community.

The Artists:

Alvaro Alvillar / Stefania Antonucci / Jessica Caldas / Yehimi Cambrón Alvarez / Nicolas Canal Tinius / Ferney Coy / Franklin Delgado / Pedro Fuertes / Eloisa Gallegos Hernandez / Catalina Gomez-Beuth / Ana Guzman / Gonzalo Hernandez / Saul Hernandez / Izabella Herrera / María Korol / Emily Llamazales / Morgan Lugo / Alexandra Marrero / Pamela Diaz Martinez / Kengel Maysonet Baerga / Wilay Méndez Páez / Alex Mikev / Graciela Núñez Bedoya / Mario Padilla / Rachel Padilla / Esteban Patino / Tameka Phillips / Paula Reynaldi / Lucha Rodriguez / Ferdinand Rosa / Sara Santamaria / Maria Sarmiento / Carlos Solis / Sergio Suarez / Melvin Toledo / Reinaldo Vargas / Myrtha Vega

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.

Space & Color Open House

The Art of Real Estate Restoration (AORE) was founded by couple Scott Chunlamany and Alex Miller to combine their passions of renovating houses in the Atlanta area and supporting the Atlanta arts community. Scott oversees the renovation process of houses and Alex serves as the realtor for the flipped house. Due to her love of art and design, Alex started to host pop up galleries in the renovated homes during open houses. Alex understood that staged or furnished houses were easier to sell and connected this real estate knowledge back to her roots as an artist. Whenever Scott and his team finish a renovation project, Alex curates a pop-up gallery to dress up the home and support local artists. 

AORE’s open house for its first renovation project at Gresham Park was accompanied by its first pop-up show. The “Space & Color” pop-up gallery exhibited the artwork from 7 female artists local to Atlanta: Hannah Adair, Lauren Betty, Sydney Daniel, Pamela Martinez, Katharine Miele, Alex Miller, and Liz Webb. As guests came to see the 3 bed/2 bath home during its open house, they also got to see an amazing display of art all throughout the house. The open house gallery was open between September 13 - 15, 2019. 

Golden Paints Sponsorship

Every year, thousands of teens submit their art and/or writing to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards competition. This competition is open to all teens between seventh and twelfth grade. The Scholastic Awards provide an opportunity for students to express their creativity, win scholarships, and join exhibitions and publications. Golden Paints, a leading manufacturer of colors and mediums for artists, is a sponsor for the GOLDEN Educators Residency. GOLDEN honors educators with an incredibly unique opportunity as it is very hard to get corporate sponsorships in the art industry. Every year, GOLDEN honors twelve educators that have helped students to win a Scholastics Art & Writing Award. Three educators are invited to a two-week artists’ residency in upstate New York. GOLDEN also sponsors nine other finalists with $1,000 Golden Artist Colors gift certificates that can be cashed in for any materials they wish to work with. Pamela Diaz Martinez was one of the finalists and received a $1,000 voucher for GOLDEN materials.

Le Grand Prix du Carré Hermès

Book Worm

Up North

School of Fish

Double Orb

Mother Ship

Earmuffs

Bear Hug

In 2019, legendary fashion company Hermès hosted its first international scarf design competition. Le Grand Prix du Carré Hermès was free and open to all types of artistic talents. The winning design would be purchased and reproduced for a future Hermès collection. The contest ran through a series of phases between March 8, 2019 - March 1, 2020 and upwards of 11,000 creative talents submitted their designs for consideration. 

Pamela Diaz Martinez and former high school student Leigh Sarembock collaborated to enter several designs into Le Grand Prix du Carré Hermès. Martinez and Sarembock individually chose photos/pieces from their own portfolios before coming together to select images that complimented each other. Using computer graphics, the photos were then juxtaposed to create a fluid design.  

Included below is the statement that Martinez and Sarembock wrote for Hermès:

Martinez’s innumerable ticks of pastel powder sit atop the page waiting for a passerby to whisk them into a fresh arrangement. Initially, erasing creates a negative, which reads like a positive. For those that wait, eventually the “drawing” will reverse what the eye perceives ultimately creating a form of wind caught in a moment. Present are palettes of eminent green, infallible yellows and pinks most commonly observed as astutely commanding. Martinez’s gentle imposition surrounds the interior space merging into Sarembock’s compositions of lush domestic textures filled with docile publications. Sarembock forms hauntingly empty space devoid of humanity while simultaneously inviting the imperial, connoisseur of design. With ease and elegance Sarembock will rotate to construct a poetic feeling of place for the humble academic looking to slink into a comfortable position for the night. Together, Martinez and Sarembock’s conceptual designs hypothesize a future that is neither here nor recognizable, yet embryonic and familiar. 

Leigh Sarembock, a South African-American interior designer and Pamela Diaz Martinez, a Mexican-American studio artist and instructor first collaborated in 2007. The former high school teacher and student duo met in Irvine, California to forge an interminable friendship and design team. Sarembock remarks about working with her then high school teacher, Ms. Martinez, “I wanted to soak up all information, techniques as much as possible but also felt extremely comfortable to chat and express opinions as though you were my counterpart. It became this comfort level-we were able to form a bond that surpassed a teacher student hierarchy.”