Follow the Waters
Solo Exhibition by Delita Martin
February 6 - May 3, 2025
In Follow the Waters, I invite you to immerse yourself in a world where blue waters take center stage, holding within it spiritual connotations that resonate with the divine, wisdom, and protection. Through this body of work, I explore the profound connection between the color blue and the spiritual element of water.
Blue, as a color, carries a multitude of meanings and emotions. In this exhibition, I harness its power to convey the sacred and the profound. I use it to evoke a sense of transcendence and spirituality. It symbolizes wisdom, offering a glimpse into the depths of human understanding and the mysteries of the universe.
At the same time, blue represents protection, serving as a guardian against harm and misfortune. In Follow the Waters, blue becomes a vessel through which we explore the interplay between the spiritual and the physical realms.
The women in these portraits serve as spiritual guides over bodies of water, as they embarked on fantastic journeys. Just as in life, we cross many rivers to reach various destinations; water and water-bodies also play a pivotal role in rites of these women to transition from the secular to the sacred self.
Water, with its ever-changing nature, is the most changeable and traversable realm, mirroring the fluidity of life itself. Water is inherently life-giving, sustaining both the physical and spiritual aspects of existence. It possesses the power to purify, while also acting as a force to be reconned with.
Follow the Waters is an ode to the resilience of the human spirit, a reminder that even in the darkest of times, the divine wisdom and protection represented by the color blue can guide us through the turbulent waters of life.
I invite you to journey with me through these artworks, to contemplate the profound symbolism of blue, and to reflect on the enduring power of water in our lives. In doing so, may we find solace, inspiration, and a deeper connection to the sacred within and around us.
About Delita Martin:
Delita Martin, born in Conroe, Texas, is a contemporary artist living and working in Huffman, Texas. She received her BFA in drawing from Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas. She then completed her graduate work at Purdue University where she received an MFA in 2009 with an emphasis in Printmaking, Drawing, Mixed Media, and Installation. Formally a member of the fine arts faculty at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Martin is currently working as a full-time artist in her studio, Black Box Press.
Martin’s work explores the beauty and complexity of spiritual identities, primarily working from oral traditions, along with vintage and family photographs as a source of inspiration. Through her mixed-media printmaking practice, which includes the layering of various printmaking processes, drawing, painting, collaging, and hand-stitching, she celebrates their strength and resilience in a world that often overlooks or devalues African American Women. She uses patterns, texture, and color, to create immersive veilscapes (spirit worlds), that are deeply personal yet accessible to viewers. Her layering of technique signifies a liminal space – the space between the waking life and the spirit life. Martin’s distinctive style combines elements of realism, abstractions, and symbolism, creating bold and beautiful portraits of Black Women as they transition between the spirit world and the waking world. She continues to explore the complex layers of identity and experiences, celebrating the powerful legacy of African American Women.
Martin served has as 2021 keynote speaker for the Mid America Print Council and keynote speaker and organizer of Presidential Panel at the Southern Graphics Council International (SGCI) Annual Conference in 2024. Her work has exhibited both nationally and internationally, participating in 25 solo exhibitions and included in over 60 group exhibitions throughout the United States, and internationally in Cuba, Denmark, Portugal, London, Italy, Germany, and India. Notably, her work exhibited in the 2022 Venice Biennale, National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, DC and welcomed into the Library of Congress.