Catalina Martínez Rojas

MFA Printmaking

If the Sun were as big as my heart, what would be the distance between the sun and the Earth? Or how to domesticate the sun.

As an act of discovery, beauty is usually found in the most domestic, contradictory, and everyday situations and objects. In this sense, everything in the world can become relevant simply by pointing to it. My artistic practice begins with this gesture of attention: identifying fragments of the ordinary and re-presenting them so that they can be seen again.

Speculating on the utility and role of the artistic object is one of the ways I approach the construction of meaning. Through installations that seek to be read as clues, I suggest ways of approaching mundane mysteries that may be impossible—or even pointless—to solve. These installations are composed of sculptures, prints, artist books, handmade paper, ceramics, textiles, and textual elements. Within these arrangements, objects function almost like drawing elements in space: fragments that relate to one another through proximity, repetition, and contrast.

A small installation shaped like a book consists of a dark blue square box, a rolled handmade paper scroll, and a spherical handmade piñata covered in layered blue, gray, white, and yellow paper fragments.

Something fell from the sky and I trapped in this box
2025
Artist Book
Cardboard box, pulp painting collage, kozo paper piñata, letterpress on handmade paper
9 x 9 x 9"

Three long red banners hang vertically on a white wall, each displaying the words ‘copy & print’ in large white letters. The banners are made of textured handmade paper and attached to black wall mounts

If all the world were paper. My favorite objects (a Staples banner)
2025
Paper sculpture
Woodblock-printed handmade kozo paper and porcelain
82 × 13"

An installation features large piñatas made from layered strips of yellow, orange, and pink paper. One sculpture sits on a white pedestal, while another hangs from the ceiling above a white table displaying small printed images

First explosion of The Sun or The Sun is about to explode
2024
Site-specific installation
Screenprinting and letterpress on paper, crayon drawings, sculpted crayons
Variable dimensions

Several small off-white fabric pillows are piled on the floor, each printed with the phrase ‘OBJECTS ARE TIRED TOO’ in black capital letters. In another image, a terracotta flower pot lies tipped over beside green paper

Dreaming of leisure; objects are tired too
2024
Sculpture
Screenprinting on muslin, intaglio print on paper, ceramic pot
Variable dimensions

A metallic ruler forms a large standing loop against a white background, bending away from its flat shape and held together with a small screw. Beside it sits a small stack of blue intaglio-printed paper pieces

Reflections about One Meter
2025–ongoing
Sculptural pieces
Binder clip, intaglio prints on handmade paper, aluminum ruler, screw, nut
Variable dimensions

A large sheet of handmade blue paper hangs from a rolled cylindrical form attached along its top edge. The cylinder is covered in marbled purple, yellow, white, and blue textures. Close-up images show the rough edges

Clue# 22
2025
Sculpture
Handmade kozo fiber pulp painting
70 × 47"

An installation fills a gallery floor with oversized wooden matches scattered in different directions. Each match has a large red tip and pale wooden shaft. In the foreground, a black flower pot lies tipped over with green paper leaves spilling out.

Un Fósforo No Prende Fantasmas
2024
Installation
Wood, cement, red natural pigment
Variable dimensions (21 giant matches)

A white cardboard storage box with handwritten text on the side reading ‘THERE IS NO NEW THING UNDER THE SUN’ sits against a gray background. Inside the box are white packing peanuts, a sun-shaped piñata

There is no new thing under The Sun (a piñata)
2025
Artist Book
Screenprinting and letterpress on kozo paper, wheat paste, orange safety thread, banker box
9 × 9 × 9"

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