Once a month, we give the floor to young artists in the form of an interview. The purpose of this format is to provide young artists with a space for discussion and sharing their creations, as well as to introduce the public to their journeys and artistic approaches. For this first interview, we had the pleasure of conversing with José Jun Martinez, a painter originally from Puerto Rico and currently a student at the Royal College of Art in London.
Hello José, can you introduce yourself?
My name is José (also known as Jun) Martínez. I am a currently London-based painter from the Caribbean archipelago of Puerto Rico.
I completed my undergraduate degree from 2010 to 2015, and since then, doing a Master’s has been a plan held on standby until now. This year felt like the perfect moment to take my practice to another context, and studying at the RCA was the ideal way. As a painter whose primary reference is the land where I have always lived, the distance and change of environment represent an opportunity to rethink my approaches to painting in terms of both method and motivation.
Before that, you were at the University of Puerto Rico. What are the differences in teaching between the two institutions?
My BA was in Humanities, major in Fine Arts, which gave me access to a more holistic and broader field of studies than that of the specialized Fine Arts School. It was significant to me to have earned my BA in my country instead of abroad. The RCA now adds a more global perspective to my formation because of all the people I am getting to work alongside.
What are your current references? And which ones have had a major impact on you?
I’ll give you the names Leonardo Boff and Ernesto Cardenal. From them and many others, I learned to approach the sources of life from a poetic but also material and grounded perspective.
For me, the search is about the tension between the beauty of the world and its hurting reality. That tension makes possible the creation of spaces to hold complex personal and collective reflections.
Can you describe your work in three words?
Heartfelt, movement, reconciliation
You use oil painting ?
It somehow feels fresh and alive. It is always healthy to change mediums and explore possibilities that you may be ignoring because you have become too familiar with just one material. I am now applying some of what I enjoyed from working in watercolour to my oil paintings.
Your work at the moment is very much centred around floral motifs and still life figuration. Why is this of particular interest to you?
I have made a long-term commitment to painting from the earth. It has to do with solidarity and liberation, understanding the earth as being oppressed by the same powers that oppress the poor and marginalized of the world.
I paint outside, immersing myself in natural spaces, and in the studio, immersing myself in projections of photographs I take. I look to position myself as part of the nature I am painting, letting myself become absorbed and abstracted by it.
Spontaneity and looseness. It also brings me closer to the time of nature herself. Even though I must paint faster, the process must always be contemplative. It is more important to be present as fully as possible than to “finish” the painting.
How would you like to see your practice evolve, both technically and in terms of the subjects you tackle?
I aim for paintings that breathe more so I can breathe with them. I always seek to widen my views while still being coherent.
Are there any new practices you’d like to move towards?
I’d love to diversify my practice in other mediums like sculpture, photography, video, and even digital.
Do you listen to music while you produce?
There is something precious about working in silence. I do paint with music sometimes, but I’m awful at having favorites, so I’ll give you my top 5 artists of this year according to Spotify: Fito Paez, Charlie García, Bad Bunny, Gustavo Pena, and Sui Generis
What can we wish for you for the future?
A faithfully lived life and a fulfilling sustainable practice.
crédit photo Raquel Perez Puig
You can follow José Jun Martinez on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/junmtinez/