

Quezalteca Especial Ad, p40-41 from Indigenous Woman
2018
Spread across nearly two meters of photographic surface, "Quezalteca Especial Ad, p40-41 from Indigenous Woman" presents a meticulously constructed advertisement parody in which Martine Gutierrez assumes every creative and performative role, from model to art director, to produce a searing yet seductive interrogation of commercial imagery. The work belongs to Gutierrez's landmark 2018 project "Indigenous Woman," a fully realized mock magazine in which the artist appropriated the visual language of mainstream fashion and beauty advertising while centering a protagonist, herself, who is Mayan and transgender. Here, the Quezalteca liquor advertisement format becomes a vehicle for examining how Indigenous identity is commodified, aestheticized, and erased within the global consumer economy, with Gutierrez simultaneously inhabiting and subverting the role of the idealized female body so often deployed to sell aspiration. Printed as a C-Print mounted on Dibond and measuring 137.2 by 182.9 centimeters, the work commands physical presence commensurate with the scale of the billboards and magazine spreads it cites. The Dibond mounting ensures archival stability while giving the surface a taut, lacquered authority that reinforces the work's commentary on the seductive perfection of advertising. Offered in an edition of eight and hand-signed by the artist, this piece is among the most resolved and conceptually layered works from a project that earned widespread critical acclaim and is now held in significant institutional collections. For collectors, it represents a rare intersection of photographic rigor, performance-based practice, and urgent discourse around gender, race, and representation.
- Medium
- C-Print mounted on Dibond
- Overall
- Signed
- Yes
- Spotted At
- Gallery · RYAN LEE
More by Martine Gutierrez
Collectors with works by Martine Gutierrez

Start the Discussion
Request access to join the discussion