ABOUT MARTHE
Marthe Aponte is a self-taught multi media French-American artist based in Southern California at the edge of the Mojave Dessert who works mainly with paper in her studio in complete silence.
Aponte’s work proposes a different way of seeing and being—one where slowness, attention, and touch are central.
Her upbringing in the French countryside, surrounded by vineyards, meadows, and forests, has been fundamental to her development as an artist. Guided by her grandfather, Aponte learned to perceive the world primarily through her senses—especially through the sense of touch—and to take time to notice the details of things. She often describes how touching leaves, tree trunks, and flowers evokes a deep sense of presence and a spiritual connection with nature.
Observing her mother and aunts spend long hours carefully embroidering also left a lasting impression. Years later, this memory inspired her to create embroidered works on paper, merging the tactile traditions of her childhood with her artistic vision.
Aponte’s academic background in philosophy, literature, and art history informs the intellectual and poetic dimensions of her art. She creates images that explore myth, ritual, poetry, and a sense of the sacred. Her visual language draws inspiration from Henri Rousseau’s lush jungles, the intricate designs of Australian Aboriginal art, and the ornate forms of Latin American Colonial art, among others.
Aponte’s work has been exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the Los Angeles area and is included in public and private collections across the United States.