Beneath the Shadow of the Fig Leaf

Houston-based artist Gabriel Martinez seeks found objects such as discarded clothing as he traverses the streets of the city. He uses these materials to create compositions that recall traces of global trade, particularly that of commercial textiles, evoking those who worked in factories to spin and dye the yarns, weave and print the the fabrics, and assemble the garments. His work also evokes the consumers and after-market owners who wore and discarded or lost these garments. As an artist, Martinez puts them back into circulation as works of art. This quilt-painting invites consideration of its formal composition and colors, as well as an awareness of the laborious nature of textile production and the economic disjuncture that enables the transformative shift in value of its constituent materials from discarded trash to a new work of art. By bringing attention to the hidden stories of artisans, factory workers, consumption and waste management in our everyday lives, Martinez questions global capitalism, consumer waste, and the environmental costs of textile industries. Each quilt is hand-stitched with a needle and thread, without the use of a sewing machine.