César Martínez: Dynamite and gelatine

Research and compilation: Josefina Alcázar

CD (Performance in Mexico Series)
CONACULTA / INBA-CITRU / Birkbeck, University of London
México, 2011

With more than 150 presentations in national and international enclosures that include performances, installations, collages, assemblies, sculptures, public art, atmospheres, ephemeral and procedural plays in the works of César Martínez (Mexico City, 1962) - which merge the visual poetry, word games and sculpture art to create, as one of the dominant themes, sculptures with human forms made from diverse materials such as gelatin, latex or wax, as recurring supports of gastronomical, physiological and even eschatological metaphors; these works allude to themes as varied as free commerce, environmental deterioration and communication media, in particular television, as objects of his critical-political exercise. The information is organized in three segments: “Gallery”, with brief details, descriptors, photos and videos of 11 montages undertaken between 1996 and 2007 in the cities of Madrid, Barcelona, London, Santo Domingo and Mexico; “Almost Everything about César”, with options for the consultation of his semblance, personal testimonies, an interview and a curriculum that registers biographical data, performances, individual and collective exhibitions, awards, courses and bibliohemerography of published texts by and about César Martínez; and finally, the “Graphics” option provides a sample of programs, invitations, posters and booklets that the artist, in his moment, used to announce and diffuse his work. It includes a complete version of the multimedia in English.