Narsiso Martinez at Catalina Museum for Art & History
Catalina Museum for Art & History presents Narsiso Martinez: Witnesses of Labor — Portraits of Essential Workers, a compelling exhibition that brings visibility to the individuals whose labor sustains the nation’s food system. Through large-scale installations, drawings and mixed media works created on discarded produce boxes, Martinez transforms materials of distribution into deeply human portraits. The presentation will be on view from April 11 through October 11, 2026.
Featuring approximately 15 works, the exhibition includes Dos Amigas, Asparagus Picker, Regador Sombrero and selections from the Ghost Portrait Series, offering a multifaceted look at labor, identity and migration through both intimate and monumental forms.
Drawing from his own experience as a farmworker, Martinez centers the people behind the produce aisles and restaurant tables that define everyday life. His works are constructed using discarded fruit and vegetable boxes sourced from grocery stores, embedding the systems of production and consumption directly into each piece.
Influenced by 1930s Social Realism and informed by Mexican artistic traditions, Martinez’s practice highlights the resilience, skill and humanity of Mexican and Latinx communities. His portraits emphasize individuality while situating each subject within broader social and economic systems, inviting viewers to consider the complexities of labor, migration and identity.
“This exhibition brings long-overdue visibility to the individuals whose labor sustains our daily lives yet remains largely unseen,” said Sheila Bergman, PhD, curator of the exhibition and Executive Director of the Catalina Museum for Art & History. “Through his use of repurposed materials and portraiture, Narsiso Martinez honors these workers while inviting us to look more closely at the systems that shape their lives and labor. I see his work as both a recognition of essential workers and a reminder of their dignity and importance within our shared communities.”
The exhibition is made possible through the support of Charlie James Gallery and private collectors who have generously lent works, allowing the museum to share Martinez’s practice with the Catalina community and its visitors.
For more information about the Catalina Museum for Art & History, visit CatalinaMuseum.org.
About the Artist
Narsiso Martinez (b. 1977, Oaxaca, Mexico) immigrated to the United States at age 20. He completed his secondary education in Los Angeles before earning an Associate of Arts from Los Angeles City College and both a BFA and MFA from California State University, Long Beach. In 2018, he was awarded the Dedalus Foundation MFA Fellowship in Painting and Sculpture.
Martinez has established a significant presence within contemporary art, with exhibitions presented nationally and internationally. His work is held in the permanent collections of leading institutions, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Hammer Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, among others. In 2023, he received the Frieze Impact Prize for his poignant depictions of migrant agricultural workers.
Martinez’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is held in major institutional collections including the Hammer Museum, Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA), Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Long Beach Museum of Art and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. He lives and works in Long Beach, California.
About Catalina Museum for Art & History
The Catalina Museum for Art & History offers the best in art and history exhibitions, music and dance performances, lectures by guest speakers from all over the world and the finest in cultural celebrations and community engagement. The museum is located in the heart of Avalon at 217 Metropole Avenue. For more information, the museum may be reached by phone at 310-510-2414 or at its website: CatalinaMuseum.org.
