César A. Martínez American, b. 1944

As a leading figure in the Chicano Art Movement of the 1970s and 1980s, César A. Martínez reimagines Mexican American culture through his own lens, creating a presence of representation when it was lacking and using his signature style of colorful backgrounds to contrast with his subjects. Martínez draws inspiration from various public mixed media and breathes life into a diverse array of faces that symbolize both a movement and the culture in which he was raised. Here we see "Sra Rivas During the 1930s," depicting a portrait of a woman in a moment of her life, contrasted by colors that represent the vibrant Mexican American vernacular culture.