Exhibition Review: Martine Gutierrez: Half-Breed
Martine Gutierrez
Demons, Chin 'Demon of Lust,' p93 from Indigenous Woman, 2018
chromogenic print in hand-painted artists frame
© Martine Gutierrez, courtesy of the artist, RYAN LEE Gallery, New York, and Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco
2. Martine
Written By Emily Capone
Edited By Jana Massoud
A tribute to Cher’s 1973 album, Martine Gutierrez’ exhibition, Half-Breed, draws upon the issues of representation within a standardized industry of fashion and art. In opposition to this standard, Gutierrez defines her understanding of gender and race through a series of photographs in which she poses in neon prints with deep, contact-lensed stares. Each image is a colorful and bold statement; however, there is an underlying irony in this. The tropes depicted in each of Gutierrez’ photographs—a metallic gaze that holds a mystical power, a flexible stance under the weight of another’s power, or the innocent doe-eyed blonde hiding in a rhododendron bush—push the boundaries of what is notably considered “beautiful” or Instagram-worthy.
Martine Gutierrez
Identity Boots Ad, p99 from Indigenous Woman, 2018
chromogenic print
© Martine Gutierrez, courtesy of the artist, RYAN LEE Gallery, New York, and Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco
Martine Gutierrez
Neo-Indeo, Cakchi Lana Caliente, p29 from Indigenous Woman, 2018
chromogenic print
© Martine Gutierrez, courtesy of the artist, RYAN LEE Gallery, New York, and Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco
As the world of social media and influencers has evolved, the issue of what is considered beautiful has become a central focus. While the question of inclusion in this industry may play on repeat, Gutierrez does not wait for a response. After receiving her BFA at the Rhode Island School of Design, Martine Gutierrez moved to Brooklyn to address these issues through her art, using eclectic media, such as mannequins, to dive into her own understanding of societal roles while striking an open conversation between herself, her art, and its viewers. In her bio, Gutierrez states that she is “interested in every facet of what it means to be 'genuine', especially when performing in a role society would never cast me in.” Instead of waiting to get on a Paris review cover, Gutierrez creates her own ‘cover’ with her photographic series, Indigenous Woman, in which she is photographer and model, imitating the sensually stimulating ‘eye candy’ of fashion and beauty. In one of the images selected from Indigenous Woman, Neo-Indeo, Gutierrez is weighed down by invisible and external forces. She contorts her body into what appears to be an uncomfortable and exhausting position while simultaneously maintaining grace and stability. Using glossy pages and vibrant textiles, Gutierrez is pictured draped in the finery of antiquated clothing (Gutierrez utilizes handmade Mayan apparel from her own lineage) and designer pieces. In Neo-Indeo, we see Gutierrez staggering under the weight of an invisible burden (the corn, maybe? we ask ourselves), yet she manages to remain poised and elegant. In this image, her reflection of self-evaluation is exposed to us: beauty, wealth, power, and stability all appear to push her body backward, and yet, they seem to be proponents of her position. This self-evaluation can also be seen in her more provocative piece, Plastics, in which Gutierrez wears a haphazardly placed blonde wig and colored eye contacts. Gutierrez smushes these contradictions together within a single sheet of plastic, contorting her face into a Picasso-esque expression. With this image, my thoughts and my first impressions are at odds with each other – is this image beautiful? I find it hard to look away from the woman’s piercing gaze, and my eyes instantly notice the small flaws: the flash of dark brown from under the wig, the discoloration in the contact lens, the way the plastic wrap creates a strange ‘face-lift’.
Martine Gutierrez
Plastics, Edith, 2020
chromogenic print
© Martine Gutierrez, courtesy of the artist, RYAN LEE Gallery, New York, and Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco
Martine Gutierrez
Body En Thrall, Blonde Bra, 2020
chromogenic print
© Martine Gutierrez, courtesy of the artist, RYAN LEE Gallery, New York, and Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco
While each of Gutierrez’ images may seem like a distortion, they are true to the nature they present. In Demons, for example, Gutierrez poses as a mystical woman adorned with gold and a bold headdress of braids and leaves, and there is a strange possession within her yellow eyes. However, there is a certain amount of power and beauty juxtaposing this strangeness, and the nature of the mystical trope is challenged. Gutierrez pushes the boundaries of these tropes within the dichotomy of identity, and her exhibition challenges the viewer with the question reflected in Cher’s 1973 album, Half-Breed: “Where do I fit in?”
The Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco has selected images from three of Gutierrez’ most recent photographic series, Indigenous Woman, Body En Thrall and Plastics for their latest exhibition, Martine Gutierrez: Half-Breed. Viewings are available from November 18, 2021 - January 29, 2022.
