Wence and Sandra Martinez opened Martinez Studio in 1994 and became nationally recognized as artists who blend their unique visions through drawing, painting and weaving. Their collaborative work points to textile’s history of preserving symbol and myth while integrating indigenous and contemporary processes and aesthetics. Wence frequently travels to his home village, Teotitlan del Valle in Oaxaca, Mexico, where he draws inspiration to work closely with the studio’s Legacy Project apprentices.


Martinez Studio, located in rural Door County, Wisconsin, has participated in five consecutive Smithsonian Craft Shows, where they received the 2016 Silver Award for Overall Excellence and the 2017 Exhibitors Choice Award. In 2017, they were finalists for American Craft Council’s Rare Craft Fellowship, receiving a financial award along with press and speaking engagements. Martinez Studio has work in the following museum collections: the National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago; Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Washington D.C.; and MOWA: Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend, WI.


Portrait photo by Tom Jordan.