Verdadism
Verdadism is the art style created in 1992 by Soraida Martinez, an American painter and designer of Puerto Rican heritage; the name fuses the Spanish verdad (truth) with the suffix -ism. Each work juxtaposes a figurative abstract painting with an accompanying written social commentary drawn from Martinez's own life and observations of American society, addressing racism, sexism, stereotyping, feminism, alienation, and relationships. Visually the paintings simplify form and structure into broad fields of flat primary color and geometric shapes, with abstract human figures built from block-like hands and elongated bodies - a language shaped by Abstract Expressionism, Fauvism, Surrealism, and West African sculpture, while the texts draw on existentialist thought. Its purpose is explicitly social: to provoke change, teach tolerance, and model self-empowerment through personal truth.
Defining characteristics
- Figurative abstract imagery juxtaposed with a written social commentary integral to the work
- Purposeful simplification of form and structure
- Broad areas of flat, primary color and geometric shapes
- Abstract human figures with block-like hands or elongated bodies
- First-person texts drawn from the artist's own life experiences and observations
Key figures
- Soraida Martinez (1956-) — American painter of Puerto Rican heritage who created the Verdadism style in 1992
Example works
- Puerto Rican Stereotype: The Way You See Me Without Looking At Me — Soraida Martinez (1992)
- What Prejudice Looks Like — Soraida Martinez (1993)
- Please Stop Calling Us Minorities! We All Know That's Unfair Label With Negative Connotations — Soraida Martinez (1994)
Sources
- Verdadism - Wikipedia encyclopedia
- Soraida, creator of Verdadism - official site institution