Saturday January 26th at 3 p.m., Marta María Jónsdóttir‘s exhibition, Upheaval, will open in Hafnarborg.
Marta María‘s works are abstract, crossing the boundaries between drawing and painting, where the imagery is poetic and open. They portray a mysterious world, which is on the edge of recognition, appearing to be either coming into existence or ceasing to exist. The brush strokes and flow of colour form the foundation of the painting, as it does not merely lie on top of the picture plane, but builds up the picture. The raw unpainted canvas becomes a part of the imagery, similar to a pause in a piece of music or a space in text. The works deal with painting itself, its origin and meaning.
Marta María Jónsdóttir (b. 1974) studied art at The Icelandic College of Art and Crafts, before graduating with a master‘s degree from Goldsmiths College in London in 2000. She also has a postgraduate diploma in animation from London Animation Studio. In her works, Marta María explores the boundaries between drawing and painting. Colour plays a key role, as swaths of colour, lines and forms build up the picture plane. In the works, instinctive drawing is paired with the mechanical and the scientific. The line and drawing are used as the building blocks of the pictures, which are layered and multifaceted, coming together to form a whole.