Artificialis

Artificialis

contemporary art / history of art

Martha Jiménez

Born in 1948, Martha graduated in plastic arts and was one of the first alumni of the Cuban Art Instructors’ School. Her artistic disciplines – which she practices and teaches – are painting, sculpture, ceramics and printmaking. Besides her creations in all these fields, she is specified in terracotta sculptures and won in 1997 the International UNESCO prize for those ceramic creations.

Moreover, Martha is granted by countless national and international awards. In particular, she was recognised at the fifth International Sculpture Symposium in Turkey in 2011, the fourth International Ceramic Tile Triennial and the Shanghai Biennale both in 2010. Among other pieces in public space, she created a series of bronze sculptures for the Plaza del Carmen in Camagüey. Including chairs and benches, she portrayed the people of her neighbourhood in life-size.

Martha’s extensive oeuvre was shown since 1967 in more than 250 exhibitions in Cuba and abroad, like the United States, Canada and many Latin American countries. In the last years, her works were also on view in Europe and are represented in several public and private collections. In addition to her own inventions, she supports children and nascent artists with workshops and participative projects, besides her teacher activity at the Fidelio Ponce Academy of Plastic Arts and Design.

One of the artist’s main subject are women. Without any influence of the Colombian artist Fernando Botero, Martha creates them voluptuous, with enormous hips, fleshy lips and often waving hair. Another recurring element is the fish, whose movement is similar to the women’s: fast and free, like it is stated at her website. Furthermore, there is the sewing machine as symbol of female work and a personal hint to her mother.

Martha lives and works in Camagüey, Cuba.

www.martha-jimenez.es

Artwork of the month / October 2016