Narsiso Martinez - Field Work, Art, and Labor in America

is a visual artist whose drawings, paintings, and mixed-media installations center the lives and labor of farmworkers in the United States. Martinez worked in the agricultural fields of Washington state — a formative experience that would later shape the core of his artistic practice. After completing his education in Los Angeles, culminating in an MFA in Drawing and Painting from California State University Long Beach, Martinez developed a body of work that reflects the dignity, hardship, and invisibility of the workers who harvest America’s food.

Martinez is best known for his powerful portraits rendered on discarded produce boxes collected from grocery stores, which he transforms into evocative, layered compositions. His work draws from the visual language of 1930s Social Realism, updated through a contemporary lens and materials that speak to both economic precarity and cultural resilience. By incorporating found objects and working at the intersection of figuration, installation, and sculpture, Martinez calls attention to the dissonance between agricultural abundance and the exploitation of those who make it possible. His art challenges viewers to consider the systems behind the food they consume, and the people whose labor sustains them — many of whom remain undocumented and unprotected.

In this talk, Martinez will share the personal history that informs his practice, from his journey as a farmworker to his development as an artist. He will discuss the evolution of his use of unconventional materials, the political and emotional layers embedded in his subject matter, and the importance of bearing witness through art. Whether painting directly onto cardboard or building immersive installations, Martinez’s work offers a poignant meditation on labor, identity, and the complicated narratives embedded in the American agricultural landscape.

Presented in partnership with the Institute for the Humanities.

This project was made possible by a grant from the Arts Initiative at the University of Michigan.

Series presenting partners: Detroit PBS, ALL ARTS, and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Public.

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