Jel Martinez

Jel Martinez’s (b. 1976) paintings are inspired by the methodology of vandalism removal. Martinez observes how metropolitan clean-up crews destroy one art form while creating another. The artist constructs his paintings by combining earlier influences with a figurative style of painting referred to as “buffs”. These “buffs” manifest as contemporary patterns, resulting in a captivating visual tapestry. His canvases mirror the intricate layers found in the urban environment. He actualizes four stylistic forms of buffs in his paintings: symmetrical – which are recognizable geometric squares and rectangles, ghosting – in which the remover traces the lettering but the general form and shape is emphasized, radical – the remover uses neither geometric nor guide lines to erase the writing often referred to as an outside the lines removal, and blur – when the remover uses paint stripper and a cloth to wipe the writing but leaves a cloudy appearance on the wall.