NARSISO MARTINEZ (B. 1977) Ghost Portrait Series (Cantaloupes), 2023

NARSISO MARTINEZ (B. 1977) Ghost Portrait Series (Cantaloupes), 2023 signed (on the reverse) ink on Duralar mounted on produce label collage on paper 15 x 11 in. 38.1 x 27.9 cm. Footnotes: Provenance Courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles Artist statement: Narsiso Martinez's drawings and mixed media installations include multi-figure compositions set amidst agricultural landscapes. Drawn from his own experience as a farmworker, Martinez's work focuses on the people performing the labors necessary to fill produce sections and restaurant kitchens around the country. Martinez's portraits of farmworkers are painted, drawn, and expressed in sculpture on discarded produce boxes collected from grocery stores. In a style informed by 1930s-era Social Realism and heightened through use of found materials, Martinez makes visible the difficult labor and onerous conditions of the 'American farmworker,' itself a compromised piece of language owing to the industry's conspicuous use of undocumented workers. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing