What a delight to step into SE-OC Right Brain Gallery last Friday to meet the humble and incredibly talented artist Edward Martinez. His unique, one-of-kind designs are three-dimensional landscapes that incorporate LED lights, and in some cases, microprocessors programmed to create different lighting effects.
At the age of twelve Martinez, also known as “Viejo,” developed his style and love for art that keeps changing with time and location, always reflecting his surroundings. As a young boy, he won several awards for his mosaic work and paintings growing up in Chicago. Viejo says, “As a young artist, when this is all you have for your surroundings, people would tell me to look past the rough exterior for inner beauty. What I noticed is that I didn’t have to look past anything at all to find beauty. It was actually on the surface and all around me. This made it easier for me to tell a story and evoke a feeling through my work. Thus, I found mosaic art, drawing and family as my only outlet and form of comfort.”
When he moved to New Mexico, Viejo became inspired by the night sky and the solar system. He attended the University of New Mexico and received his degree in Electrical Engineering and then went to work for Sandia National Laboratories in the satellite program. From 1993 to 2009, Viejo lived in Los Angeles and started creating three-dimensional luminous underwater seascapes, which were inspired by his scuba diving trips along the California coast. The highlight during this time came when the city of Hollywood commissioned him to create a 3D design of the cityscape including the Hollywood sign. In 2009, Viejo moved back to New Mexico and his work began to focus on mountain landscapes and city murals. Viejo says, “I learned that working with several new mediums like urethane, acrylic resins, silicon rubber and applying my engineering background opened up more doors to be creative in other ways. This is when my art took on a whole new look in my attempt to create original three-dimensional stories in a real and surreal way.”
The artwork of Edward Viejo Martinez will hang at SE-OC Right Brain Gallery through the end of August. He will also join the gallery in Artful Saturday on August 15th from 1pm - 5pm. SE-OC Right Brain Gallery is located at 3100 Menaul Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87107, 505.816.0214, www.se-oc-rightbraingallery.com. The gallery is open Tuesday - Saturday, 11AM - 5PM or by appointment.
