CLAUDIA MARTÍNEZ GARAY
b. 1983, PeruClaudia Martínez Garay is a contemporary artist whose multidisciplinary practice powerfully reimagines the visual language of Peru’s history, challenging colonial narratives and bringing to light overlooked stories through painting, sculpture, printmaking, video, and installation.
Martinez Garay’s acclaimed work has been exhibited internationally, including major institutional solo exhibitions in the United Kingdom and China, and she has received prominent awards such as the Emerging Artist Award from the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation.
Early Years
Born in 1983 in Ayacucho, Peru, Martínez Garay grew up in a region deeply marked by the country’s turbulent history. She studied printmaking at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú in Lima, where her early engagement with carving, stencilling, and layering images laid the foundation for her later practice. Her experience of living between Amsterdam and Lima for several years informs her exploration of identity, memory, and cultural heritage.She has participated in residencies at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam, Cité des Arts in Paris, and Artpace in San Antonio.
Claudia Martínez Garay Artworks
Martínez Garay’s artworks interrogate how artefacts, propaganda, and cultural relics communicate the socio-political memory of Peru and the Andean region, often referencing pre-Columbian knowledge systems and indigenous iconography. Her installations and objects are known for their layered symbolism and for challenging the objectivity of official historical narratives, particularly those shaped by colonialism.
Seminal Works and Developments
Early Printmaking and Layered Imagery
Martínez Garay’s background in printmaking is evident in her process of carving, stencilling, and layering, which appears in both her murals and sculptural objects. Her early works often drew from Peruvian school textbooks, exploring how state-sanctioned imagery shapes collective memory.
Reclaiming Andean Narratives
Her installations frequently incorporate fractured forms and symbolic elements derived from Andean culture, highlighting stories and identities obscured by colonisation. Works such as Intrusos en sus tierras (2024) and Dueños de sus sombras (2024) use the visual language of educational materials to critique the supposed neutrality of historical accounts, foregrounding brown bodies and indigenous perspectives.
Moments of Rupture
Martínez Garay describes her recent practice as capturing ‘moments of rupture’—instances where European modernity collides with Andean worldviews, marking irreversible changes in history and identity. Her series often employs a stark chromatic contrast between brown and white, reflecting on race, power, and representation.
Site-Specific Installations
Major commissions such as WAKCHAKUNA / We Who Share Everything and Nothing (Nottingham Contemporary, 2024) and Every Seed is Awakened (Dundee Contemporary Arts, 2024) exemplify her commitment to reanimating lost narratives and engaging with collections of historical artefacts from the Americas.
Public Commissions
- WAKCHAKUNA / We Who Share Everything and Nothing, Nottingham Contemporary, 2024
- Every Seed is Awakened, Dundee Contemporary Arts, 2024
Awards and Accolades
- Emerging Artist Award – Commission Grant, Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (2018)
- LOOP Acquisition Award (2019)
- Henry Moore Grant (2024)
- Stokroos Prize (2021)
- Van Bijlevelt Fellowship, Netherlands (2017)
- Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development, Netherlands (2015)
Exhibitions
Claudia Martínez Garay has been the subject of both solo and group exhibitions at important institutions. Below is a selection of exhibitions.
Solo Exhibitions
- Borrowed Air, GRIMM, London, 2025
- WAKCHAKUNA / We Who Share Everything and Nothing, Nottingham Contemporary, 2024
- Every Seed is Awakened, Dundee Contemporary Arts, 2024
- Ghost Kingdom, GRIMM, New York, 2022
- Caminos de Liberación, GRIMM, Amsterdam, 2021
- A las revoluciones, como a los árboles, se les reconoce por sus frutos, GRIMM, Amsterdam, 2019
Group Exhibitions
- Sharjah Biennial 16, Sharjah Art Foundation, 2025
- 1 Million Roses for Angela Davis, Kunsthalle im Lipsiusbau, Dresden
- The Faculty of Sensing: Anton Wilhelm Amo, Kunstverein, Braunschweig, 2020
- Imagined Communities, 21st Contemporary Art Biennial Sesc_Videobrasil, São Paulo
- 16th Istanbul Biennal, 2019
- Diplomacy, Yeh Art Gallery, St. John’s University, New York, 2019
- Taning Y/Our Passion, Aichi Triennial, 2019
- Pro-Regress, 12th Shanghai Biennial, 2018
- Triennial: Songs for Sabotage, New Museum, New York, 2018
More Reading
Her practice has been featured in leading magazines, including BOMB Magazine, Artsy, and Living Content. For an in-depth interview, see ’Living Content 57: Interview with Claudia Martínez Garay’.
Claudia Martínez Garay FAQs
What are the main themes in Claudia Martínez Garay’s art?
Her art explores the transmission of history and memory through artefacts, propaganda, and iconography, focusing on the impact of colonialism on Peruvian and Andean identities.
Where can I see the work of Claudia Martínez Garay?
Her work is held in major public and private collections, including the Denver Art Museum (Colorado), Museo de Arte de Lima (Peru), AkzoNobel Art Foundation (Amsterdam), and KADIST (Paris and San Francisco). She is represented by GRIMM Gallery (London, Amsterdam, New York), and has exhibited at Nottingham Contemporary, Dundee Contemporary Arts, and Sifang Art Museum (Nanjing).
How do I pronounce her name?
Claudia Martínez Garay: KLOW-dee-ah mar-TEE-nez gah-RYE.
What are five key facts to know about Claudia Martínez Garay?
She is a Peruvian contemporary artist working across painting, sculpture, printmaking, video, and installation.
Her art addresses the legacy of colonialism and the erasure of indigenous histories in Peru and the Andes.
She draws on her Andean heritage and uses visual motifs from pre-Columbian cultures, state propaganda, and historical archives.
Martínez Garay has exhibited internationally at major institutions and biennials, including the Sharjah Biennial, Istanbul Biennial, and New Museum Triennial.
She has received significant awards, including the Emerging Artist Award from the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation and the Henry Moore Grant.
Ocula | 2025
Explore and Follow Artists Shaping Contemporary Art
A respected voice in contemporary art discourse.
Focusing on ambitious storytelling and insightful art-world commentary. Ocula Magazine publishes in-depth interviews, critical essays and timely analysis on the artists, exhibitions and ideas driving the global art world.
Learn more about Ocula Magazine
Showcasing the best of the art world.
Ocula partners with galleries from around the world to highlight their artists, artworks and exhibitions. Gallery membership is by application and invitation, with each member vetted by an independent panel.
Learn more about Ocula Membership
Specialises in the sale of major artworks.
Led by a team with deep ties to the world’s leading auction houses, galleries and collectors. Ocula’s advisory team offers bespoke services to high-net-worth clients from around the world who are looking to acquire the best of contemporary and modern art.
Learn more about our team and services