"These neons come from the aesthetics of mom-and-pop storefront signage here in Los Angeles-income-tax accountants, check-cashing places, pawn shops, things like that. I'm remixing the messaging to speak to passersby directly, and a lot of that language is the language of protests."
"These messages need to exist in the art world. They need to be seen and normalised. It's urgent. These neons are being shown in the context of art, but for me, my work does not only exist in one place. It's a bridge to the people that inspire the work."
"It's a way of injecting the work back into the places where it needs to be seen or the places it's inspired by."
Patrick Martinez creates neon sculptures that blend the aesthetic of Los Angeles mom-and-pop storefront signage with direct political messaging. His work addresses urgent social issues including immigration enforcement, abortion rights, and electoral systems. Six of his neon pieces are displayed at Frieze Los Angeles, featuring phrases like "Deport Ice" and "Nobody is illegal." Martinez views his art as a bridge between the gallery world and the communities that inspire his work, ensuring political messages are seen, normalized, and injected back into the places where they originated. His work appears throughout Los Angeles on billboards, in museum exhibitions, and gallery shows.
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