Martine Gutierrez: Indigenous Woman

June 10, 2022 – December 31, 2022

Indigenous Woman began in 2014 when artist Martine Gutierrez (American/Mayan, b. 1989) served as art director, photographer, and model to create an entire world of high fashion in a 124-page glossy magazine. Among the fashion spreads are carefully constructed portraits of Indigenous deities from Mesoamerican and West African religious traditions. The artist printed large-scale photographs of these self-portraits, mounting them in elaborately hand-painted frames. 

Each deity, many of whom embody male and female characteristics, has a distinct identity depicted in their elaborate hair sculptures, dramatic make-up, and extravagant accessories. Gutierrez, who is Latinx and transgender, drew inspiration from both the beauty of the divine and the ugliness of colonial oppression to create images that invite questions about the rigid binaries of male / female, sacred / profane, and Indigenous / colonizer.

“No one was going to put me on the cover of a Paris fashion magazine, so I thought, I’m gonna make my own.”- Martine Gutierrez

Martine Gutierrez (American, b. 1989). Queer Rage, Imagine Life-Size, and I’m Tyra, p66-67 from Indigenous Woman, 2018. Chromogenic print, ed. 1/8, plus 2 AP, 42 x  63″. Tia Collection, Santa Fe, NM. © Martine Gutierrez; Courtesy of the artist and RYAN LEE Gallery, New York.

Martine Gutierrez (American, b. 1989). Demons, Yemaya ‘Goddess of the Living Ocean,’ p94 from Indigenous Woman, 2018. C-print mounted on Sintra, ed. 4/8, 41 1/2 x 29 1/2″. Tia Collection, Santa Fe, NM. © Martine Gutierrez; Courtesy of the artist and RYAN LEE Gallery, New York.

Martine Gutierrez (American, b. 1989). Demons, Xochipilli ‘The Flower Prince,’ p91 from Indigenous Woman, 2018. C-print mounted on Sintra, ed. 7/8, 42 1/4 x 30 1/4″. Tia Collection, Santa Fe, NM. © Martine Gutierrez; Courtesy of the artist and RYAN LEE Gallery, New York.