César A. Martínez has been a staple in the San Antonio art scene for decades. His current solo exhibition at Ruiz-Healy Art, César A. Martínez: Smoke and Mirrors, marks his third solo show at the gallery. My archival research with the Museum of Fine Arts-Houston in Spring and Summer 2024 included finding several documents on Martínez’s art. And thus, I was ecstatic to be invited by the gallery owner, Dr. Patricia Ruiz-Healy, to see the show in person.
Martínez was brought up in Laredo, Texas, which is an overwhelmingly Mexican American community. He is the first American-born member of his immediate family. The artist came of adult age during the Chicano Movement of the 1960s, where numerous politically-engaged Mexican Americans protested against unfair treatment of their communities. His artwork, however, steps away from the overt political activism of the Chicano art found in California that focused on appropriation and reclamation of indigenous Mexican heritage. Instead, Martínez’s artwork reflects the Chicano experience and dynamic nature of life along the Texas-Mexico border.
