• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
Bacolod contemporary visual artist Rodney Martinez opened a solo art exhibit at Italia Restaurant in Bacolod City on February 22, which will run for a month.
Titled “Nature’s Playground” the show features 17 of his colorful creations in oil. Guests of honor during the opening were Bernardo Garcia and Eddie Boy Ledesma.
In his show, Martinez’s works revolve around one of the fundamental themes usually found in his paintings – nature. He portrays his subjects such as plants, flowers, insects, birds, or fishes from the eyes of a modernist artist and not in the way others see them.
He has held over 20 solo exhibitions and joined several group shows. He is also adept at multiple media and shows mastery in watercolor, pastel, oil, pen and ink.
Martinez is a past president of the Art Association of Bacolod, aside from being a founding member.
He completed his degree in Fine Arts major in Advertising from the University of Sto. Tomas in 1964, where he was also affirmed as Most Outstanding Alumnus in the field of fine arts presented by the Talaan Pandangal Award in 1982 by UST Alumni Association, Bacolod Chapter.
He was appointed member of the Commission of Arts and Culture of Bacolod in 1990 and served as faculty of La Consolacion College (LCC) School of Architecture and Fine Arts from 1975 to 1991, where he was a recipient of the 1990 Artist of the Year Award and LCC Centennial Award.
He was also recipient of The 2018 Ang Banwahanon Award for Visual Art in Bacolod City and also awarded as one of the Four Pillars of Art in Bacolod City.*
