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7 Heron St, SF CA

Hours and appointments vary by exhibition, please check the specific event listing.

Exhibition Series

Un Lenguaje de Flores

Jet Martinez

Saturday April 6th, 6-9pm
By appointment thru May 11th
Artist closing talk May 9th 5:30-8:30pm

Heron Arts is pleased to announce a new solo exhibition by Jet Martinez, a mixed media painter and muralist originally from Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, now residing in Oakland, California. The opening reception for A Language of Flowers is Saturday, April 6th 2024 from 6-9pm, where the artist will be in attendance. The exhibition is free and open to the public until May 11th by appointment.

Jet Martinez is a prolific muralist and studio painter who creates vibrant emblematic compositions with elements of nature, highlighted by an aesthetic deeply rooted in his Mexican heritage and his exposure to Mexican Folk Art. Martinez transforms urban environments around the world with high contrast floral abstractions, often integrating birds and movement with a variety of colorful swirling vegetation which evokes the feeling that the area is alive and abundant. Un Lenguaje de Flores, translates to A Language of Flowers, referring to the artist’s inspiration from floriography; a method intended to communicate meaning with types of flowers and flower arrangements to convey feelings difficult to express with words. This new series of work comprises 20 paintings in a range of styles and gradations inherent in Jet Martinez’s paint applications. The artist aims to present a range of emotions using color theories that reveal a deeper level to the work. Martinez considers this series a reflection of sensitivities about the state of the planet, with his own personal hardships, victories and self-discoveries. A muted tonality, or a monochromatic palette, suggests a vulnerable side to the work. Martinez uses these flower motifs as a vehicle for communicating deeper meaning in reaction to abstract parts of his life.

Born in Tuxpan, Veracruz, and growing up in Cuernavaca, Morelos, México, the artist was first captivated at an early age with access to seeing large works in person by artists like Diego Rivera, Jorge Gonzalez Camarena, David A. Siqueiros, and José Clemente Orozco. Witnessing these large scale public works inspired the notion that this could be the pinnacle of artistic expression for him. He was also influenced by the studio works of Frida Khalo and Remedios Varo. Martinez sees value in the immensity of murals, and how public art can impact a community with visual storytelling, cultural representation, and as a forum for personal expression. The artist observed influential decorative traditions in many of the towns in Mexico he traveled to throughout his life. Specific styles and objects created by each community reflected the region with their different types of flora and fauna, color palettes, and quality of unique craftsmanship.


Jet Martinez moved to San Francisco to study Painting and Printmaking at The San Francisco Art Institute in 1997 after studying Spanish Literature at The University of Colorado in Boulder. Becoming an artist in the Bay Area at that time influenced his work amidst vibrant graffiti and mural scenes of the Mission School of the late 90s and 2000s, and a mentorship with Rigo 23. The artist creates a balance between both large format private and public work, as well as studio work. He begins his paintings with some research and digital sketches before transferring the composition onto a panel. The artist manipulates the surfaces of his paintings layering techniques like textural one-stroke blending, airbrush, linework, ink, masking, and spray paint. This use of materials encompasses the influences of world folk arts, graffiti, muralism, and urban elements. At the heart of the work, Martinez represents himself and his family, at the same time he hopes that his work can spread representation of Mexican and Bay Area cultures internationally. He takes pride in being a husband to another full time artist, Kelly Ording, with whom he is raising two beautiful children. The artist proclaims that his family was the “best investment he could have made in his artwork,” saying that their love and support has maintained his success and work/life balance. This latest iteration of his work, A Language of Flowers, is a series of meditations on sometimes heavy and introspective themes, and light-hearted expressions of hope.

Works

Arbolito Dorado
Jet Martinez
Spray paint and Latex on Panel
24 x 30”
$5,000

Ardiente
Jet Martinez
Acrylic on Panel
60 x 48”
$11,000Inquire

Camelia Pacifica
Jet Martinez
Latex on Panel
72 x 72”
$16,000Inquire

Cuernavaca
Jet Martinez
Latex and Acrylic on Panel
72 x 72”
$16,000

Monte Alban
Jet Martinez
Acrylic & Spray paint on panel
20 x 16” each
$6,000

Monte Alban (Left)
Jet Martinez
Acrylic & Spray paint on panel
20 x 16”
$3,000

Monte Alban (Right)
Jet Martinez
Acrylic & Spray paint on panel
20 x 16”
$3,000

Love is more powerful than reason
Jet Martinez
Acrylic and Ink on Panel
72 x 48”
$13,000

Nieve en el Ajusco
Jet Martinez
Acrylic on Panel
60 x 48”
$11,000

The Absence of Light
Jet Martinez
Acrylic and Latex on Panel
30 x 24”
$4,500

Tu Luz
Jet Martinez
Acrylic and Latex on Panel
30 x 24”
$4,500Inquire

Bacalar
Jet Martinez
Acrylic on Panel
30 x 24”
$4,500

Sway Left
Jet Martinez
Acrylic on Panel
30 x 24”
$4,500

L'estate A Mestre
Jet Martinez
Spray paint on panel
30 x 24”
$4,000

Xochipepe
Jet Martinez
Spray paint on panel
30 x 25"
$4,000

A Fragile Peace
Jet Martinez
Spray paint on panel
30 x 26"
$4,000Inquire

Year of the Eclipse
Jet Martinez
Spray paint on panel
30 x 27"
$4,000

Tóg Go Bog É
Jet Martinez
Acrylic on Panel
36 x 48"
$7,000

Time Well Spent
Jet Martinez
Acrylic on Panel
36 x 48"
$7,000Inquire

Tamayo
Jet Martinez
Acrylic on Panel
36 x 48"
$7,000Inquire

El Rechazado
Jet Martinez
Spray paint and acrylic on panel
36 x 48"
$7,000

Bouquet De St. Germaine
Jet Martinez
Acrylic and latex on Panel
60 x 48"
$11,000Inquire

Xochitla
Jet Martinez
Spray paint on panel
60 x 48"
$10,000Inquire

Diablito
Jet Martinez
Spray paint on panel
20 x 16"
$2,500

Sway Right
Jet Martinez
Spray paint on panel
20 x 16"
$2,500