For the past few semesters, Maria Martinez's art has been on the move.
Her artwork has been displayed in exhibitions at several different locations on campus, including the Zoller Gallery and Pasquerilla Spiritual Center.
Now, several of her paintings and drawings can be seen in the West Halls Cultural Lounge as a part of the Art on the Move program established by the HUB-Robeson Galleries.
Gallery publicist Bethany Van Velsor said Art on the Move is mainly for students and emerging artists like Martinez, a 2007 alumna.
"Maria's work is very innovative," Van Velsor said. "It explores many different shapes. It's abstract work, so it's very emotive and interesting."
Martinez said Van Velsor invited her to participate in Art on the Move after seeing a painting of hers that won an award in a bachelor of fine arts (BFA) undergraduate juried show.
"In August of last year, I was invited by the HUB to do a show at Pasquerilla Spiritual Center, and she saw one of my paintings that I got an award for, and she asked me if I wanted to do another [exhibition] for this spring," Martinez said.
Martinez said the paintings and drawing featured in West Halls are from an earlier stage in her development as an artist.
"A lot of the pieces that are in the show, they were done in the first years that I entered the BFA program," she said. "They're probably the oldest but also the best pieces that I have of all the work that I've done."
Martinez said her time in the fine arts program has added depth to the meaning of her work.
"When I started the program, what I was focused on was abstract work, and I was dealing a lot with lines and the process of meditation and dealing with a way of expressing what I was feeling emotionally," she said.
"Then, as I was getting more experience in my work, I started realizing that it was more about my cultural background."
Since then, Martinez has drawn inspiration from Mexican folk culture.
"I went to a performance at Eisenhower Auditorium, and I started reading a little about it, and I think my recent work, that's where it's coming from," she said. "The lines turned out to be coming from dresses that I had seen worn by Mexican people in folk dancing."
Martinez said in high school, art was simply a hobby. It wasn't until entering college that she considered it to be a possible career path.
"I actually wanted to major in art therapy, but then it directed me more toward just the art and not focusing on anything else," she said.
Martinez added that she arrived at her current style after much transformation.
"It's just a process of learning," Martinez said. "So I think it's where I want to go now, and the concept behind it is that I'm still learning where I'm working from."
