Philadelphia (University City), PA – September 2nd, 2009

Latin American Modern Masters – Art Exhibition at University of Pennsylvania to Celebrate Latino Heritage Month – September 11th – 18th, 2009

Important works from a private collection of well known Central American artists Ana María de Martinez and her brother San Avilés (Ernesto Avilés) will be on display to the public from September 11th through September 18th, 2009 at the University of Pennsylvania’s Fox/SPEC Gallery in Claudia Cohen Hall, located at 249 South 36th Street in University City.  The event is sponsored by the Latino Coalition and La Casa Latina, University of Pennsylvania, and is free and open to the public.

About the Artists

Ana María de Martinez was born on May 28, 1937 in Santa Ana, a cosmopolitan city in the western region of El Salvador in Central America.  She is the younger sister of the remarkable Salvadorian painter San Avilés (1932-1991).   She is one of the most important working artists in El Salvador.

Ana María’s work resides in highly prestigious museums and private collections, such as the Duchess of Alba collection in Spain, the private collection of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan, and the permanent collection of contemporary painters in the Museo Marte, the National Gallery of El Salvador.  In 2007, Ana María’s work was featured in the Latin Masters exhibition at the Nassau County Museum of Art in New York, alongside other world renowned artists such as Frida Kahlo, Wilfredo Lam and Fernando Botero. Her work has been successfully auctioned at prestigious galleries and auction houses worldwide, such as Sotheby's and Christie's New York.

Ana María began her career in San Salvador, El Salvador in 1967, where she participated in a clay modeling course sponsored by the French embassy. She expanded her medium to include casts and polychrome molds using many techniques including encaustics, which she would later use in paintings and in combination with other contemporary techniques and materials.  For example, the paintings on display are acrylic painted on linen canvas, producing a super-realistic effect.  “I love to paint oranges because it is a special fruit that provides a sentiment of sensuality, when it is explored with the infinite possibilities of texture and color,” says de Martinez of her work.

Her work is often compared to the Dutch Masters of the 17th century for her mastery of light and the art of claroscuro, an Italian term that describes the technique of contrasting light and shade in order to enhance shape, form, texture and transparency.  “The shine of the light is the happiness; the black is not a negative feeling—that does not exist,” says de Martinez.  “The darkness is the pain, the suffering that flourishes through the light.  If there is no darkness, we do not appreciate happiness.  We have to go through facets in life…through the obscure path.  The darkness takes something of light that gives tranquility.”