Business Profile: Unite And Conquer/Iconink 47 Studio And Gallery

Nuevo Contemporary

\ Apr 21, 2016

5 min read

Unite and Conquer is an art movement whose mission is uniting artists of many disciplines and backgrounds to connect, engage, get inspired, and illicit both vision and strategy with participants in their individual and collaborative art journeys. The lineup is, simply said, world class.

Critically acclaimed artist and owner of Iconink 47 Studio and Gallery, Eric Christo Martinez, is having his grand opening and exhibit entitled Iconverge (located at 408 Central SW) in the heart of downtown Albuquerque. Iconink 47 is a studio of many mediums primarily fine arts, tattoo and design. Attention to detail and creativity has gone into the design and functionality of the studio which was approached as a piece of art in itself. Christo and his team are composing history with an innovative interior design with custom easels built right into the walls. And speaking of walls, murals are unfolding in the rear enclosed patio which will serve as a creative space with stage 47, a platform for poets, musicians and artistic expression. Artists’ services like fine art printing, imaging, graphic design and consultation are on hand. Iconink will release the clothing line and accessories for illNuevo 47 and Galleria Fashion. This marketing strategy pairs gallery exhibit openings with the release of the headliners’ artistic designs.

The Iconverge exhibit is opening April 29, 2016 with a ribbon cutting on Old Route 66. The two main headliners include Eric Christo Martinez from New Mexico, Burque to be exact, and Adan Hernandez from San Antonio, Texas. Works from the Conviction Series, created by Martinez while incarcerated, will be on display. Christo will also publically release the first works of the 47 Series that will feature artists from N.M. the 47th state, and is bringing together artists like Hernandez from the 28th state of Tejas to share the platform in a two man show to foster the ethos and theme of the Unite and Conquer Art Movement, originally founded by Iconink. This type of branding is the first to identify different geographical regions where the artists are rooted in building and projecting a broad artistic platform through this art movement.

Adan Hernandez, as the out-of-towner, will share newer works alongside the painting “The Death of Juanito” and other iconic paintings now on national tour 22 years after the making of the film Blood In, Blood Out. Hernandez is the real artist behind the artwork that portrays Cruzito from the screenplay of world renowned poet, Jimmy Santiago Baca. Baca will bless the event with poetry, workshops and a screening of A Place to Stand. The program will bring together multidisciplinary artists from throughout the region and nation. An exhibition of Pre-Colombian art and N.M. relics will also be on display. Aztec dancers, singers, poets, painters, tattoo, graffiti and other visual artists and special guests including Jesse Borrego, who played Cruzito in the cult classic film, will bless the studio and gallery opening.

Christo’s art transcends the confines of space, with surreal intonations of stark realities and has made beautifully bold forays into the prestigious fine art world. Peter Eller, a well-known art/antiques dealer and appraiser was responsible for the “Passion of Christo” being acquired by the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History. “What drew me to it in the first place is its sublime, deep and almost mystical Christology, the sense of passion, rebirth and transcendence very much reminiscent of Spanish paintings of the 17th century and one of my favorite Spanish painters, Ribera.” Eric Christo Martinez was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to 10 years in prison, a stiff penalty for a first-time offender under the less than merciful federal court system. The convict’s journey to freedom is the challenge that Christo was blessed and burdened with expressing through his paintbrush.

Christo has solidified his artistic vision into a true movement. Beside the gallery opening is a gathering and celebration of the Unite and Conquer Art Movement that will bring together an artist’s summit and festival from April 30-May 1, 2016. Saturday, April 30, will include visual art and writing workshops, discussion panels and an evening banquet, charity auction, honors ceremony and a preview of the juried art show at Hotel Cascada. Sunday, May 1, will include the ongoing art festival at Expo NM State Fair Grounds in the Manuel Lujan Building. Doors open to the public from 10:30am until 7:30pm. Art and tattoo booths, a car show showcasing car culture artistry, poetry, musical performances, film screenings including the premiere of Conviction, by Daniel Glick, and a short doc on Christos’ art journey are all on the list of activities.

This artistic ethos permeates Downtown and the city with a much needed vision and platform for living and working artists setting the stage and home base for a vital art movement that is making its mark in an ever-changing historical context.