A multidisciplinary creator who draws, sews, collages, and paints on paper, Delita Martin’s work often depicts black women whose stories have historically been omitted from Western art. Combining modern and traditional materials and imagery, Martin constructs images drawn from her personal history in order to generate new narratives and challenge societal norms. 

Created in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Gathering addresses themes of community and self-care. Through historic references such as the cone flower, a symbol of strength and healing in Native American and African American cultures, Martin acknowledges the role of nature in promoting both individual and societal well-being. Two figures, a modern woman and an ancient figure wearing a traditional African mask, hold hands across space and time. They appear on a field of blue, a color Martin associates with spirituality and are seated near multicolored jars representing traditional medicines. According to Martin, “The Gathering reflects an intimate exchange with oneself, spiritually and organically, serving as the nucleus of this communal space and supporting connections.”

The Gathering was originally commissioned by the Moody Center for the Arts for its Tent Series and was reproduced as a large-scale public artwork on the facade of Provisional Campus Facility #4 in 2021.

About the artist: Delita Martin (b. 1972, Conroe, TX) is an artist and activist based in Huffman, Texas. Martin received a BFA in drawing from Texas Southern University and an MFA in printmaking from Purdue University and previously taught drawing at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. In 2020, she launched the Black Box Press Foundation, dedicated to supporting artists whose work inspires activism and social change. 

Martin’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Recent group and solo exhibitions include The Afro-Futurist Manifesto: Blackness Reimagined Palazzo Bembo, Venice, Italy (2022); Gathering the Bones, Förderverein Kloster Bentlage, Rheine, Germany (2022); Delita Martin: Calling Down the Spirits, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC (2020); and State of the Arts: Discovering American Art, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR (2016–2017).

Her work is held in numerous permanent collections, including the Bradbury Art Museum, C.N. Gorman Museum, Crystal Bridges Museum, David Driskell Center, Library of Congress, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota Museum of American Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Petrucci Family Foundation, Thrivent Financial, William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum, and the U.S. Embassy, Nouakchott, Mauritania, among others.