CANYON, Texas — Graffiti-inspired works from a military veteran-turned-contemporary artist will be on view beginning April 6 at West Texas A&M University.

Joey “Wise” Martinez’s “Overload” will hang April 6 to 23 in the Dord Fitz Formal Gallery in Mary Moody Northen Hall. An opening reception is scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. April 6.

Martinez, a Lubbock native, started working as a graffiti artist as a young man, seeing the medium as a way to promote beauty by painting over vandalism from gangs.

“I want people to understand that graffiti is not vandalism,” Martinez said. “I’ve created art all over the world.”

Photo: “Lost” by Joey Martinez

Martinez served in the Marine Corps after high school, allowing him the opportunity to make art in Brazil, Nicaragua, the Netherlands and Japan. After his discharge, he worked at Pantex for six years and joined the U.S. Army Reserves, where he was injured during training before he could be deployed to Afghanistan.

“I had to get out of the Army, which was tough because it was my goal to defend my country,” Martinez said. “I felt like I was not fulfilling my duty as an American.”

That sense of personal disappointment and the ongoing effects of PTSD both inform his artwork.

“School is my priority now. It’s art therapy for me,” said Martinez, who is pursuing his master of fine arts at WT. “It keeps me productive and focused on creating new forms and styles.”

This exhibition also shows Martinez grappling with the loss of his mother in February.

“My work became even more intense,” he said. “My emotions are on the canvas.”

It’s rare for a professional artist to return to Graduate School, said Jon Revett, art program director and Doris Alexander Distinguished Professor of Fine Arts in the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities .

“Joey has had a career as a mural and graffiti artist for many years. It speaks to his success of as an artist to be willing and come back and create a new body of work that is different from what he is known for,” Revett said. “His newest work still uses spray paint but goes beyond the traditional graffiti aesthetic. The paintings speak of contemporary societal issues while referencing Neolithic cave painting. By tying contemporary practice to some of the most ancient forms of painting, Joey has been able to transcend his old street art strategies into something timeless and demonstrates his true skill as an artist.”

Martinez’s works also can be seen on his Instagram account, @wiseone1978 .

Fitz Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and by appointment Fridays and Saturdays. Email [email protected] .

Fostering an appreciation of the arts is a key component of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World .

That plan is fueled by the historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign. To date, the five-year campaign — which publicly launched in September 2021 — has raised more than $120 million.