I am Jesus Toro Martinez
The art I make is a visual statement about the world we live in today. The materials I use are an expression of what mother earth has provided.
Currently, his work is in permanent collections in the University of Texas in San Antonio, the Latino Art Museum in Pomona, California, and Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church, San Dimas, California.
Martinez has done Art Residencies and Art Workshops with The River Pearce Foundation, Laredo Center for the Arts, Laredo Children’s Museum, Project BRIDGE- Texas, Taller de Niños at the Instituto de San Miguel, Mexico and Museo de Rufino Tamayo, Mexico City, Mexico. Currently, his art is available in Texas thru Simon Fine Art Gallery, Paris, FR. Fredric Art Gallery, Mexico City, Mexico and Art Legacy Texas in San Antonio, Texas.
Jesus Toro Martinez, a native Texan, works at JTM Fine Art Studio, an incubation studio for visual artists in San Antonio, TX.
He received B.F.A. from the San Antonio Art Institute and an M.F.A. from Ravenherst University in the Netherlands and has participated in solo and group art exhibits at The Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum, San Antonio, TX, The Museum of Modern Art, Tampere, Finland, Galleria Amores in Mexico City, and MexicArte Museum, Austin, TX. Limner Gallery, Hudson, New York.
He has had solo exhibitions and installation projects at the Museum of the West in Oslo, Norway and at the National Academy of Art in Helsinki, Finland. His paintings are in numerous private collections across the United States and in Europe.
Click the buttons below to download my Official Bio and Portraits.
About the Artwork:
From land to canvass. From something organic to something else organic. Since I was a child, we were taught to pick up our trash. National campaigns helped remind us “not to mess” with the land. So many years later I wondered, what does she think of how we’ve treated her? What have we really done to keep the land sacred? The wildflowers series created form items of our collective carelessness — aluminum cans, restaurant take-out containers, old newspapers, plastic cups, plastic grocery bags, and on and on — into landscapes of our beloved lands. We are all connected. Our trash and recyclables are all connected. Our creeks and rivers connect us... uses of non-native materials found in our creeks and rivers. From a small act of picking up trash has come a new series of artwork for all
Education
1988 - 1991 Bachelor of Fine Arts, San Antonio Art Institute
1998 - 2000 M.F.A. from Ravenherst University in the Netherlands
Selected Group Exhibitions
2020 La Jornada, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Office Building, Mexico City, Mexico.
2016 It’s Art not Porn, Old Broadway News Porn Shop, San Antonio, TXContemporary Art Month San Antonio 2016, San Antonio, TX
2015 Jerusalem Bi-Annual 2015, Final Notes of Maestro, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Upper Church. Christian Quarters, Jerusalem, Israel
2014 Colorful Day, Miniature Painting, Simon Fine Art Gallery, Paris, FR
2014 Selfie, AnArte Gallery, San Antonio, TX Artist engage in ‘Selfie’ curator Ana Montoya owner of AnArte Gallery, San Antonio, TX
2013 Roma International 2013 - Arte Inspirational, Galleria Patron, Rome, Italy
2012 Yearbook 2012, Latino Art Museum, Pomona, CA. An invitational international artist exhibit, curator, Graciela Nardi, Executive Director and Founder of the Latino Art Museum.
2012 Expressions - Cielo, Mar y Tierra, Helena Moreno Fine Arts Gallery, San Migel de Allende, Mexico
2012 Melodiad Visuales - La Musica En La Pintura, Atelier et Galerie D’Audiffred Oaxaca, Mexico
2006 Latinos Expression, San Antonio Public Library, San Antonio, Texas Curator: Dr. Angelica Jensen, Art Dealer and Curator of contemporary art and Arturo Almeida, curator for the University of Texas in San Antonio Permanent Collection
1999 Noche Navideñas, MexicArte Museum, Austin, Texas
1998 La Frontera /The Border: a collection of working artist along Mexican, Canadian and United States Border Toronto Contemporary Art Center. Curador Jean Feraz González, Toronto CANADA
1994 Día de los muertos: a collection of traditional altars, Recuerdos de mi Madre Art Gallery, San Antonio, TX
1994 Art from the West, Tampre Fine Art Center, Tampre, FINLAND
1991 All Natural, Department of Forestry, Oslo NORWAY
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2021 Flores Silvestres | Wildflowers, San Antonio Mexican Cultural Institute San Antonio, TX.
2020 Tierra Sagrada, Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, Austin, TX.
2018 Rivers & Creeks, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Rosenthal Gallery,
Brownville, TX. Curated by Alex Macias
2016 Not Traditional, Latino Art Museum, Pomona, Ca, Curator Graciela Nardid
2016 Symbols & Icons, Dock Space - Lone Star Arts District, San Antonio, TX, Curator
Liz Soto of Overleaf Design, San Antonio, TX
2015 Teale, Silver, Red and Black, Union Building, San Antonio, TX, Curator Ana Montoya of AnArte Gallery, San Antonio, TX
2013 We Meet Again, AnArte Gallery, San Antonio, TX
2008 Santuarios del Alma, Casa de la Cultural, Cuidad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico
2004 Pasion en Guerra / Passion in War, Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum, Gallery 4,San Antonio, Texas
2002 12 Red Paintings, The Avenue Gallery, Tucson, Arizona
2001 Cosas de la naturaleza, Casa de la Cultura, Nuevo Laredo, Tamp. Mexico
2001 Golden Paintings, La Peña Art Gallery, Austin, Texas
2001 Rosas en oro, Gaslight Theater Gallery, Lockhart, Texas
1995 Places, Laredo Center for the Arts, West Gallery, Laredo, Texas
1994 Tradition, Sul Ross State University, Alpine, Texas
1991 National Academy of Art Finland, Helsinki, Finland