MUNTHE ART MONDAY: MARTINE JOHANNA
Please introduce yourself and tell us about what you do.
My name is Martine Johanna, I'm Dutch and my practice revolves mainly around the activity of painting, drawing and writing. My journey as an artist began at an early age alway's finding comfort in making up visual stories and drawing, and later on pursuing diverse creative interests throughout life. My paintings, often on linen or panels, are made with acrylic in an optimistic prismatic color spectrum reminiscent of Fauvism and sometimes carrying an atmosphere of Mid Century idealism. I often include framing that lets the painting bleed into the “real world”. I let cut-throughs and light prisms distort the environment of the female subjects in elucidating dynamic surreal compositions, to play between abstraction and otherworldly narrative depiction.
Martine is wearing the TUXA TOP and OBEY PANTS.
What has been the most challenging aspect of being a woman in the arts?
One challenge I've faced is that the art world can be quite male and art-elite-dominated, and with my visual style and subjects it can be harder to be seen or taken seriously, especially in the Netherlands, where in the eye of government-run initiatives, abstraction is still viewed as higher art. Even though I did get financial support once, mostly I have to earn a living with what I do and in these times it's hard to do so. Thankfully, I've also had incredible opportunities and support from galleries, collectors, residencies, press and fellow artists, which has helped me grow and develop my practice.
What would you like people to notice in your artwork?
I hope it takes you into my self-invoked "female chimerical house", a contradictory escape and slightly hypnagogic experience, something to stand still by, to laugh, to dream, to make curious, to do nothing else but light a little fire in your heart.
Could you explain more about how being a woman has affected your career?
Being a woman definitely has both had a positive and negative impact on my general development and therefore also on my career, in a way that I'm a late bloomer because of past female related trauma. But I no longer experience it as a limitation for growth, in the long run it made me more vigilant, bold, and in the past sometimes angry even.
Growing up in a small traditional village in the Netherlands, girls were discouraged to pursue any individual passion that was not seen as traditional or useful. I have a love for romanticism though, that also stems from traditional roles, and I never mind that my work is associated with the general perception of femininity, even if some use "feminine" art, mostly men, as a demeaning term.
Nowadays my work is a way for me to visualise the strangeness and humor of my human experience, and I don't want to be pigeonholed. I draw inspiration from my own (past) life, my relationships, my dreams and the world around me, and I think that's reflected in the things I paint and draw. Ultimately, being a woman with a wondrous life, interrupted by very dark experiences since childhood, has given me a personal and relatable perspective that is reflected in my art. I'm proud to be part of a community of artists of all ages, walks of life and genders, who are reflecting their life experience and vision in their own right.
Can you name some other female (artist) that inspires you and explain why they do so?
Cortney Cassidy is someone close to my heart, she is an artist that writes wonderfully uniquely. She is one of the sincerest and brutally honest poets that takes you right into a visual dream by her writing.
https://cortneycassidy.com/ and this is one of her latest pieces: https://dark.properties/strange-gardens/
Martine is wearing the TUXA TOP and OBEY PANTS.
