Marta Sánchez (born 1959) is a

Chicana Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American iden ...

painter known for her ''

retablo A retablo is a devotional painting, especially a small popular or folk art one using iconography derived from traditional Catholic church art. More generally ''retablo'' is also the Spanish term for a retable or reredos above an altar, whether ...

s'' paintings, works on paper such as serigraphs and monotypes, and cascarones.

Early life and education

Marta Sánchez was born in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. As a child, she lived in poverty and faced discrimination for her Chicana heritage. As a result, she turned to art as a defense against what she faced. Ultimately, Sánchez used art as a means of social activism. She later went on to acquire a BFA in art education at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. Motivated by the opportunity to study abroad in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, Sánchez joined the MFA program at the

Tyler School of Art The Tyler School of Art and Architecture is based at Temple University, a large, urban, public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tyler currently enrolls about 1,350 undergraduate students and about 200 graduate students in a wid ...

in Philadelphia. At the

, Sánchez met

Santa Barraza Santa Barraza (born April 7, 1951) is an American mixed-media artist and painter who is well known for her colorful, retablo style painting. A Chicana, Barraza pulls inspiration from her own mestiza ancestry and from pre-Columbian art. Barraza ...

, a fellow artist who familiarized Sánchez with the Chicano Movement. Sánchez was heavily inspired by the

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

religious ''

s'' paintings she saw in Italy. Retablos, or ex-votos, are small tin paintings that pay respect to different saints of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, symbolizing a positive future and spiritual journey in the Mexican experience. 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. 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.

Social activism

The

Philadelphia Folklore Project The Philadelphia Folklore Project (PFP) is a non-profit organization advocating for and providing documentation, presentation, education, and collaborative research to folk and traditional arts across the Philadelphia region in service of social ...

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 Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

. In 1992, Sánchez founded "Cascarones Por La Vida Art Fund," a

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

based organization that promotes the well-being of young individuals diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. 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. 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.

Art

* ''La Danza'' (1994) ** Sánchez's art piece ''La Danza'', reflects elements of ''retablo,'' while also reflecting stories of Sánchez's happy childhood memories. The art piece depicts Sánchez as a ghost posed like a Madonna-and-child portrait, with images of ''retablo'' surrounding her. Also surrounding Sánchez are various memories from her childhood such as her home, family, and trains. The painting incorporates elements of nature such as green leaves and flowers that outline Sánchez 's ghostly body, reflecting the bright future of ''retablo.'' Reflecting her struggle against

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

'','' the distorted vegetation in the background of the piece is silenced by her happy childhood memories. ** 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 In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

. 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 ngartistic spaces that unify personal healing with cultural resistance" (Romo 30). * ''Train Yards'' ** Recently, Sánchez produced a series of paintings depicting the significance and importance of trains during the

Mexican Migration Emigration from Mexico is the movement of people from Mexico to other countries. The top destination by far is the United States, by a factor of over 150 to 1 compared to the second most popular destination, Canada. Overview Emigration from ...

experience. 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. * ''Carpas Series'' ** In her Carpas series of paintings, Sánchez pays tribute to her great-grandfather who was a lion trainer during the Carpas era. He would travel all over Mexico with a

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

, until he died from a lion attack. * ''Cascarones Inspired Paintings'' ** Currently, Sánchez is working on a recipes series, specifically one focused on cooking eggs, in reflection of her love for cascarones. The series will be an artistic expression of her Chicana heritage. Partnered with actor and comedian

Cheech Marin :''The surname'' Marin ''is of Spanish language origin. In Spanish, it is spelled'' Marín'', with an acute accent on the'' í. Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin (born July 13, 1946) is an American actor, musician, comedian, and activist who gained ...

, Sánchez's work has been part of the "Chicano Visions: American Artist on the Verge" traveling show.

References

External links

6. Sanchez, Marta. "The Art of Marta Sanchez ." ''Artedemarta.com'', WordPress.com, https://artedemarta.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Sánchez, Marta Living people American artists of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American artists 21st-century American women artists Hispanic and Latino American women in the arts American women painters Artists from Texas 1959 births