Adrián Martínez. Que la cumbia suene más fuerte que los problemas

The work of Adrián Martínez is defined by its narrative approach, use of humour and the connections it creates between territory and materials. His new exhibition at Es Baluard Museu, “Que la cumbia suene más fuerte que los problemas”, is a celebration of resilience that captures not only the frustrations of artistic practice but also the ability to transcend them by weaving collaborative networks.

The pieces presented here have been created specifically for this exhibition and are the result of engaging with the production possibilities of the immediate surroundings. Using locally sourced materials, such as Mallorcan wool dyed with natural elements, the project highlights the memory embedded in materials and their narrative potential. The felt pieces included in the exhibition can be understood as a form of expanded painting, deeply connected with the landscape and communal or collaborative practices. In this way, painting becomes rooted in a territory and in an economy of traditional knowledge, creating a direct link with the stories and processes that inhabit the materials themselves.

On a narrative level, the exhibition addresses the tensions and contradictions of the art world with a sense of critical humour, inviting us to question its structures and dynamics—from the studio to the museum itself. It reflects on issues such as collaboration, artistic conventions, the boundaries between artistic production and artisanal production, the sense of belonging and ecology. Through drawings and animations that incorporate references to the absurd, Martínez explores the paradoxes and frustrations of the pictorial process, revealing the tensions between artistic practice and the context in which it is embedded.

The work featured in this exhibition invites us to take a closer look at our surroundings, to discover the aesthetic possibilities of certain materials and rethink the place of painting. In a moment of ecological crisis and global tensions, Martínez proposes an artistic practice that embraces slowness, celebrating the artisanal, communal and processual as forms of resilience. Or, in other words, so that the cumbia continues to sound louder than our problems.

Adrián Martínez (Eivissa, 1984) has a degree in Fine Arts from the University of La Laguna, Tenerife. He currently lives and works in Mallorca. Martínez has developed his artistic activity through drawing, understood as a process of research and understanding resulting from his desire to narrate certain stories, reflect on everyday life and question his artistic practice. The materials used in his pieces range from graphite on wall, iron and wool to animation/sound, and each of these materials has its own language, providing various layers and depths to the work.

His solo exhibitions include shows at Galería Ferran Cano, Barcelona and Palma (Mallorca); Sala de Arte Cabrera Pinto, La Laguna, Tenerife, and Ateneo de La Laguna, Tenerife. He has participated in numerous group exhibitions in: Casal Solleric, Palma, Mallorca; La Regenta, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; MACE, Eivissa; TEA, Tenerife; Círculo de Bellas Artes, Madrid; Es Baluard Museu, Palma, Mallorca; MUU Kaapeli, Helsinki; Centro de Arte La Recova, Tenerife and Sala de Arte Cabrera Pinto, La Laguna. His work can be found in various public and private collections: MACE, Museu d’art Contemporani d’Eivissa; Fundación Mapfre Guanarteme; Ayuntamiento de Manacor, Ayuntamiento de Santanyí, Gobierno de Canarias and Universidad de La Laguna. In 2022, he was awarded the 25th Premi Ciutat de Manacor d’Arts Plàstiques. In 2024, he received the award at the Premio Vila de Santanyí Francisco Bernareggi de Artes Visuales and participated in BIAM 2024, Bienal de Arte Ciudad de Amposta at the Centre Lo Pati.