Marta Sánchez (artist)

Marta Sánchez (born 1959) [1] is a Chicana painter known for her retablos paintings, works on paper such as serigraphs and monotypes, and cascarones.[2] She currently teaches at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, St. Joseph's University, and the Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.[3]

Early life and education

Marta Sánchez was born in San Antonio, Texas.[4] As a child, she lived in poverty and faced discrimination for her Chicana heritage.[4] As a result, she turned to art as a defense against what she faced.[4] Ultimately, Sánchez used art as a means of social activism.[4] She later went on to acquire a BFA in art education at the University of Texas at Austin.[4] Motivated by the opportunity to study abroad in Italy, Sánchez joined the MFA program at the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia.[4]

At UT Austin, Sánchez met Santa Barraza, a fellow artist who familiarized Sánchez with the Chicano Movement.[4] Sánchez was heavily inspired by the Mexican religious retablos paintings she saw in Italy.[4] Retablos, or ex-votos, are small tin paintings that pay respect to different saints of the Catholic Church, symbolizing a positive future and spiritual journey in the Mexican experience.[4] The message of looking towards the future and finding one's spiritual self greatly inspired Sánchez to want to discover her own personal, religious journey through art.[4] She saw retablos as a form of self and religious discovery, social activism, and a connection with her Mexican heritage. Today, Sánchez is known mainly for her retablos paintings.[4]

Social activism

The Philadelphia Folklore Project highlights Sánchez's role as a social activist, in that she uses her love for art as a means of social awareness around HIV/AIDS.[3] In 1992, Sánchez founded "Cascarones Por La Vida Art Fund," a Philadelphia based organization that promotes the well-being of young individuals diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.[3] Incorporating her love for arts with her passion for social activism, Sánchez recruits different artists and young people in Philadelphia to come together and create colorful confetti-filled eggs called cascarones, to which they sell and donate the proceeds towards fighting HIV/AIDS.[3] Sánchez notes that she started this organization as a way of spreading unconditional love and warmth to everyone, just as they do in her Hispanic heritage.[3]

Art
  • La Danza (1994)
    • Sánchez's art piece La Danza, reflects elements of retablo, while also reflecting stories of Sánchez's happy childhood memories.[4] The art piece depicts Sánchez as a ghost posed like a Madonna-and-child portrait, with images of retablo surrounding her.[4] Also surrounding Sánchez are various memories from her childhood such as her home, family, and trains.[4] The painting incorporates elements of nature such as green leaves and flowers that outline Sánchez 's ghostly body, reflecting the bright future of retablo.[4] Reflecting her struggle against poverty, the distorted vegetation in the background of the piece is silenced by her happy childhood memories.[4]
    • When describing "La Danza," Sánchez notes that traditionally, the piece is a type of badge for her ability to overcome poverty, while at the same time functions as a tribute to her family, rather than a Catholic saint.[4] Like many other Chicana artists, Sánchez turns to art as a platform for "reclaiming the religious world and transforming it into contemporary spirituality" while also, "creat[ing] artistic spaces that unify personal healing with cultural resistance" (Romo 30).[4]
  • Train Yards
    • Recently, Sánchez produced a series of paintings depicting the significance and importance of trains during the Mexican Migration experience.[5] Her admiration for trains has dated back to when she was a child, as she lived near the San Antonio train yards and would admire the trains as they passed.[5][2]
  • Carpas Series
    • In her Carpas series of paintings, Sánchez pays tribute to her great-grandfather who was a lion trainer during the Carpas era.[3] He would travel all over Mexico with a circus, until he died from a lion attack.[3]
  • Cascarones Inspired Paintings
    • Currently, Sánchez is working on a recipes series, specifically one focused on cooking eggs, in reflection of her love for cascarones.[5] The series will be an artistic expression of her Chicana heritage.[5]

Partnered with actor and comedian Cheech Marin, Sánchez's work has been part of the "Chicano Visions: American Artist on the Verge" traveling show.[1]

References
  1. "Marta Sanchez - Biography". askART. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  2. "Marta Sanchez". Woodmere Art Museum. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  3. "PhillyFolk Artists – Marta Sanchez – Mexican Painter and Craft Artist". Philadelphia Folklore Project. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  4. Cheech Marin (2002). Chicano visions: American painters on the verge. Boston: Little, Brown and Co. ISBN 0-8212-2806-4. OCLC 50609903.
  5. "Marta Sanchez: Art Formed by Culture, Tradition, and Memory". La Prensa Texas. 2019-10-20. Retrieved 2022-11-30.

6. Sanchez, Marta. "The Art of Marta Sanchez ." Artedemarta.com, WordPress.com, https://artedemarta.com/

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