Crocker Art Museum Acquires “Stephon Clark (Reminder To Remember 2)” By Patrick Martinez

Patrick Martinez, Stephon Clark (Reminder to Remember 2), Ceramic, ceramic tile and stucco on panel, 36 x 36 inches, 2018

Charlie James Gallery is delighted to announce the acquisition of Patrick Martinez's Stephon Clark (Reminder to Remember 2) by the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, CA. The gallery wishes to thank Scott Shields and the entire team at the Crocker for supporting Patrick and his work. We're very proud to have such a critical piece live on in Sacramento.

In the late evening of March 18, 2018, Stephon Clark, a 22-year-old African-American man, was shot and killed in Sacramento, California by Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet, two officers of the Sacramento Police Department in the backyard of his grandmother's house while he had a phone in his hand. The encounter was filmed by police video cameras and by a Sacramento County Sheriff's Department helicopter. The officers stated that they shot Clark, firing 20 rounds, believing that he had pointed a gun at them. Police found only a cell phone on him. While the Sacramento County Coroner's autopsy report concluded that Clark was shot seven times, including three shots to the right side of the back, the pathologist hired by the Clark family stated that Clark was shot eight times, including six times in the back.

The shooting caused large protests in Sacramento, and Clark's family members have rejected the initial police description of the events leading to Clark's death. The Sacramento Police Department placed the officers on paid administrative leave and opened a use of force investigation. Police have stated they are confident that Clark was the suspect responsible for breaking windows in the area prior to the encounter.

On March 2, 2019, the Sacramento County district attorney announced that the Sacramento police officers who killed Clark would not be charged and that they had probable cause to stop Clark and were legally justified in the use of deadly force. The following month, nearly a year and a half after Sacramento police killed Stephon Clark, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that raised the legal standard for when police can use deadly force in California. In September of the same year, the city settled the lawsuit for $2.4 million with the Clark Family. (Source: Wikipedia)

Stephon Clark is memorialized in this portrait wherein his visage emerges from torn away layers of paint and stucco. The painting bears the imprint of excavation, as if from amidst ruins – it suggests an effort by Patrick to resurface the memories of lives lived and lives lost to keep them from fading from view.