Mano Martínez

MANO MARTÍNEZ (Barcelona)
“Nick.” 2016
Photograph. Pigment inkjet print on 190 gsm Epson Enhanced paper. Edition 05/30. Series of 30 prints + the artist’s proof.
Signed and numbered.
Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by the artist in 2021.
Measurements: 118 x 44 cm; 124 x 98 cm (framed).

Mano Martínez presents a nude male figure in a withdrawn pose, seated on an outdoor staircase and focused on an intimate gesture. The posture subtly references the famous “Espinario,” a classical sculpture depicting a young man bent over his foot to remove a thorn. This allusion elevates the image beyond a simple contemporary nude, linking it to a visual tradition in which the male body is associated with introspection, fragility, and restrained beauty.

The vertical framing accentuates the figure’s sculptural presence, while the urban setting creates an effective contrast between the body’s vulnerability and the harshness of the space. Nudity is not treated as a means of provocation, but rather through a direct and natural gaze, in which the body is revealed as a physical and emotional presence.

The work falls within one of the artist’s central themes: the male portrait understood as a realm of desire, identity, and exposure. In “Nick,” the tradition of the classical body is reimagined through a contemporary sensibility, marked by soft light, a restrained color palette, and a pensive demeanor that reinforces the sense of intimacy and silence.

Trained in artistic photography at the Escola Serra i Abella in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Mano Martínez has developed a body of work characterized by fashion photography, male portraiture, and homoeroticism, with influences ranging from Mapplethorpe and Newton to Pierre et Gilles.

Mano Martínez is a Catalan photographer focused on artistic male portraiture and nude photography. Trained in artistic photography at the Escola d’Art i Superior de Disseny Serra i Abella, he has worked in fashion, advertising, and editorial projects, publishing in media outlets such as Vogue España, La Vanguardia, Neo2, Shangay, The Fashionisto, and Fucking Young. At the same time, he develops a personal body of work exploring the male body, desire, and identity, with projects such as “Yes It’s Sin.”