I don't live in Pilsen, Pilsen lives in me

The smell of various spices, fruits neatly stacked up, ladies calling you to come try the food, colorful plastic bags being toted around by ladies gossiping, laughing and children at their sides. This is a mercado and it’s also the place that inspires Victoria Martinez. 

What was most enjoyable about Victoria Martinez’s art? It is how wonderfully she uses found fabric in her pieces. They are organic and colorful. One piece in particular would not have been completed without the help of her community. After hearing the description of the piece she made and “let go,” of, I was curious and the mental picture of the piece lingered in my mind; Victoria took the height of various people walking by and after a couple of hours of taking measurements she had connected the dots. She proceeds to use found fabric sowed together various of these found scraps of fabric to make a representation of the graph formed by the connected dots and then she returned to the place it was conceived and just let’s it go! After a few days each piece of fabric is gone and life in that community returns to normal. 

Victoria Martinez will be showing work at Yollocalli on Oct 15 & 16 for Pilsen Open Studios. She may only have 1 piece going up, but I’m sure you won’t soon forget the impact it will have on you. 

To see more work from Victoria Martinez: victoria-martinez.com