In 2001 the city of Troy, New York, acquired an addition to its artistic heritage: the Martinez Gallery. Its owner, Laudelina Martínez, realized a long-held aspiration—to open a gallery that would showcase many notable Latin American artists, who are generally under-represented in New York State.
The Martínez Gallery has been a center of a variety of cultural activities. It not only exhibits paintings and sculptures but also hosts literary readings, lectures, and art events. The gallery now enjoys an active artistic presence in Troy.
One of Martínez’s goals was to show not only established but also emerging artists from both Latin America and the United States. Among those represented are artists such as Alberto Mijangos, from Mexico; Jaime Suarez of Puerto Rico; Kathy Vargas, from Texas; and Germán Pérez from the Dominican Republic. From New York state she has shown the work of other Latino artists such as Alexis Mendoza, Roxana Meléndez, Martín Rubio, and Armando Soto.
The gallery has exhibited the work of almost 100 regional artists. American painters that were shown at the gallery include George Hofmann, Willie Marlowe, and Caren Carnier; sculptors Pietro Costa, Gay Malin, and Raul Acero; print makers Dan Mehlman and George Simmons; and photographers Dan Burkholder, Martin Hechtman, and Jill Skupin-Burkholder.
Martínez was born in Puerto Rico, and came to the United States to attend college in New York. She studied English and philosophy and had a career in higher education policy and administration. She is now an adjunct professor of English composition and Latino literature at Hudson Valley Community College.
When she moved from Puerto Rico to New York, Martínez became an avid collector of American and African folk art. Some of her artist friends gave her their work, and it was then that she began seriously collecting and planning to one day open her own space, and of giving opportunities to unknown but talented artists, mainly from Latin America.
Martínez has also lived in San Antonio and in New York City. In San Antonio she discovered many Mexican artists and she learned about the differences among Mexican-Americans who live in California, Texas, and New Mexico. It was an incredible education, one that has served her well in her work as a gallery owner.
After living in San Antonio she returned to upstate New York and opened the Martinez Gallery. At the beginning, to those who told her that there were too few Latinos in the Capital District to buy Latino art, Martínez responded that she wanted to widen the appeal of Latino art for people from every background. “After all,” she said, “it is not only Chinese who eat Chinese food.”
