Carlomagno Pedro Martínez

Carlomagno Pedro Martínez
The artisan in his workshop
Born	(1965-08-17) August 17, 1965 (age 51) San Bartolo Coyotepec
Nationality	Mexican
Movement	Barro negro pottery
Awards	National Prize for Arts and Sciences (Mexico) 2014

Carlomagno Pedro Martínez (born August 17, 1965) is a Mexican artist and artisan in “barro negro” ceramics from San Bartolo Coyotepec, in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. He comes from a family of potters in a town noted for the craft. He began molding figures as a child and received artistic training when he was 18. His work has been exhibited in Mexico, the U.S. and Europe and he has been recognized as an artist as well as an artisan. Today, he is also the director of the Museo Estatal de Arte Popular de Oaxaca (MEAPO) in his hometown. In 2014, Martínez was awarded Mexico's National Prize for Arts and Sciences

Carlomagno grew up in San Bartolo Coyotepec which has a ceramics tradition that extends back to the pre Hispanic period. The local speciality is “barro negro” or black clay, which gets its color from the properties of the clay when handled in a specific way. Most potters still use techniques from the pre Hispanic period, especially in molding although there have been innovations in firing. His grandparents as well as parents, Antonio Eleazar Pedro Carreño and Glafira Martínez Barranco, worked the local clay. His father began experimenting with more creative forms in order to earn more money for the family’s work and both parents taught their children to be proud of the work they do.

His first name, Carlomagno, is the Spanish version of Charlemagne who his grandmother Magdalena Carreño admired greatly. His father gave him the name in honor of his mother.

Carlomagno began to work with ceramics when he was a child, making figures such as Aztec warriors, Mexican soldiers and clowns, based on images he saw in books. In 1982, when he was 18, he enrolled in the Rufino Tamayo Workshop in the city of Oaxaca. This training allowed him to learn to bridge the gap between handcrafts/folk art and fine art. He received the Premio Nacional de La Juventud Presidencia de la República in 1987 which led to a scholarship to student in the United States from the US Embassy in Mexico in 1989.