Lacquered iron, Unique piece, 2015
Size US: 9 1/10 × 16 9/10 × 5 1/2 in
Size Europe: 23 × 43 × 14 cm
Rafael Martinez is a painter and sculptor. Born in Venezuela in 1940. He began his studies in the school of Art Rafael Monasterios of Maracay and in Arturo Michelena in Valencia.
In 1968 he furthered his studies in the experimental University of Vincennes in Paris as an assistant to the artist Jesus Soto and Carlos Cruz Diez. Friends extended to him the opportunity to participate in the first expositions of cynotism and constructivism.
In 1972 the artist went to Italy and lived in Milano, Rome and Brescia where he participated in expositions of his own and collections. In 1977 he went back to Venezezuela for three years then he went to New York to study Technical Graphics of Impression at the Pratt Graphic Center.
In 1984 he went back to Venezuela and that is where he resides to this day. His beautifully constructed works are a joy to behold and the viewer finds themselves seeing something different at every angle.