METAZINE

METAZINE

American Farmworkers

Orion

Monday 6.4.2026

    Recommendations

    On the art of Narsiso Martinez

    from

    Working the Land: Lessons in Labor and Collective Action

    Please note that we will be unlocking a new story from this issue, Spring 2026, Working the Land: Lessons in Labor and Collective Action, each week, but not every story will become available to read for free. In order to read this issue in its entirety, please buy a copy in our shop or subscribe today!

    NARSISO MARTINEZ’S mixed media installations focus on the people performing the labors necessary to fill produce sections and restaurant kitchens around the country. Martinez’s portraits are painted, drawn, and expressed in sculpture on discarded produce boxes collected from grocery stores. In a style informed by 1930s-era social realism, heightened through the use of found materials, and drawn from his own experience as a farmworker, Martinez makes visible the difficult labor and onerous conditions of the “American farmworker,” itself a compromised piece of language owing to the industry’s conspicuous use of undocumented workers.

    Born in Oaxaca, Mexico, in 1977, Martinez came to the United States when he was twenty years old. He attended Evans Community Adult School, completed high school at the age of twenty-nine, and went on to earn an associate of arts degree from Los Angeles City College, a bachelor of fine arts from California State University Long Beach, and a master of fine arts degree from California State University Long Beach. His award-winning work has been exhibited both locally and internationally.

    Find out more about Martinez and his work on his website.

    A painting on a cardboard box of a farm worker picking fruit.
    Artisan Organics, photograph by Makenzie Goodman. Artwork by Narsiso Martinez, courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles.
    A painting on a cardboard box of farm workers in a field.
    In the Fresh, photograph by Michael Underwood. Artwork by Narsiso Martinez, courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles.
    A painting on a cardboard banana box of a farm worker.
    The One, photograph by Yubo Dong, ofstudio. Artwork by Narsiso Martinez, courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles.
    A painting on a cardboard box of farmworkers picking fruit.
    Orchard View, photograph by Joshua Schaedel. Artwork by Narsiso Martinez, courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles.
    A painting on a cardboard box of a farm worker picking fruit.
    Nature’s Candy Picker, photograph by Yubo Dong, ofstudio. Artwork by Narsiso Martinez, courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles.
    A painting on a cardboard box of a person in full protective gear including gloves, a plastic jacket with a hood, and a surgical mask.
    Fruit Catcher I, photograph by Yubo Dong, ofstudio. Artwork by Narsiso Martinez, courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles.
    A painting on a cardboard box of farm workers picking fruit.
    Artwork by Narsiso Martinez, courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles.
    A painting on an unfolded orange juice container of a person filling a box with freshly picked oranges.
    Artwork by Narsiso Martinez, courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles.
    A painting of on a cardboard banana box of a farm worker.
    Banana Man, photograph by Yubo Dong, ofstudio. Artwork by Narsiso Martinez, courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles.

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