WORKS
I invite you to explore my artwork. Articulating one's art verbally can be challenging. The paintings I produce do not adhere to current trends or fashions. My aesthetic principles are grounded in the elements of painting I hold dear. They reflect a personal quest for compositional harmony, the organization of perceived reality through the use of dynamic patches and lines derived from chaotic and expressive movements. My work seeks beauty in novel arrangements of form and content. I endeavor to forge a unique visual language, occasionally drawing inspiration from esteemed traditions of European painting. My artworks are included in numerous private collections both domestically and internationally.
Emotions
This series, initiated in 2022, marks a transition from the tranquility of earlier works to a new focus on compositions centered around the human figure depicted amidst a spectrum of emotions. These emotional states are conveyed through the use of vibrant colors and a tumultuous painting medium. Some figures are in more static poses, while others are full of dynamism and tension - yet, in all these works, the narrative of internal vibrations unfolds on the plane of combining colors, textures, paint densities, and color contrasts.
Levadas
A series painted since 2019, inspired by trips to Madeira. Acrylic on canvas.
Spaces
A series painted in the years 2010-2018. Acrylic on canvas.
The Sunken Cathedral I
This series is inspired by the dual references of the Breton legend of the sunken cathedral off the island of Ys, which is said to occasionally rise from the ocean depths, its bells and the chants of its congregation audible once more, and Debussy's famous prelude bearing the same name. The prelude's undulating music, illuminated with the hues of intricately harmonious chords, conjures a sense of static nostalgia. Yet, this feeling is interwoven with a sense of underlying unease, which at times bursts forth with an unexpected thickening of the musical texture. In my paintings from this series, I endeavored to capture this sense of stillness, enhanced by the tension of effervescent colors.
The Sunken Cathedral II
The characters introduced in this part of the series reinforce the emotional element of the first part. The legend of The Sunken Cathedral can symbolize both loss and destruction, as well as undying memory or eternal hope.
In the Garden
A series inspired by the surroundings where I live. For five years, birch trees have literally been coming through my studio window. They are so persistent that they finally got their own portraits. There are still many more trees waiting in line...
About
Monika Martini-Madej - painter, theatre director, visual artist, animation director, stage designer.