Approved: 08.05.2017

martina poiana

Artist, Arts development worker, Curator, Graphic designer, Researcher

Archived
Approved: 08.05.2017

I currently work and live in London.

Read more ...

  • Location: London
  • Contexts: Activism, Research
  • Artforms: Printmaking
  • Tags: portrait, screenprint, ultramarineblu, bronzecolor, visitation, greeting, women, kurdish, boat

Merchandise

     

    Artist Statement

    I currently work and live in London.

    I studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts (BA) and Visual Arts and Design at the University of Architecture of Venice (MA). Subsequently I studied Participatory Local Action and Sustainable Urban Development.

    Over the years I have participated in group and individual exhibits, experimenting with different artistic methods, including painting, video, and site-specific installations. I also dedicate my time to art curation and art criticism for emerging artists.

    Currently I'm working on a painting project centred around the relationships between ongoing social events and classical aesthetics.An interest in social issues, such as migration, human rights, workers' conditions, and conflicts, has become the matrix of the last series of paintings. The aesthetic research is based on the selection of news images published by magazines and online sources, which are elaborated in such a way as to evoke an aesthetic connection with classic painting in terms of composition, subject and narrative power.

    "The Raft", for example, is based on the ongoing migrant/shipwreck crisis, and is reminiscent of the painting titled “Le Radeau de la Méduse” by Theodore Géricault. The preparatory image is the result of a meticulous photo-montage consisting of numerous reportage images, and aims to evoke the narrative power of the historical/classical painting.

    After evaluating the most appropriate technique for communicating these subjects today, I opted for a painting style which reflects the typical halftone process used in newspaper printing. I wanted the painting to appear objective, and this technique, which could be defined as "scientific," is capable of achieving this result.

    Despite this, the canvas is painted point-by-point, in a single color: ultramarine blue. Its dimensions (2.80 x 2 m) require time, space, and observation on the part of the observer. No image or shape is discernible from a short distance but as you move away the subject slowly appears, and certain details can be made out.

    CV & Education

    EDUCATION

    University IUAV of Architecture, Venice, Master of Visual Arts, 2008.

    Academy of Fine Arts G. B. Cignaroli, Verona, Bachelor of Fine Arts Painting, 1997.

     

    EXHIBITIONS

    2009 - “Femme” for Airswap project, Not Gallery, Naples.

    2008 - “We were 400”, site specific installation for Lezioni di Paesaggio, Renesso, Genoa.

    2008 - “Tordo”, site specific installation for I sentieri dell’arte, Gargagnago, Verona.

    2005 - “Strong White”, urban performance, Verona

    2000 - “DoppioBattente” solo exhibition, Red Zone Gallery, Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella, Verona.

    1996 - “War Series”, Biennale dell’arte Immagini Giovani, Villa Bettanini, Padua.

    1996 - “War Series”, Rêves, Arcole, Verona.

    1995 - “Landscapes”, 1st prize National painting competition Giulia Biga, Gazzuolo, Mantua.

    1995 - “Untitled paintings”, Futura Tre, Caffé Giubbe Rosse, Florence.

     

    CURATORIAL PROJECTS

    2010 - “Religión y Biotecnología”, Mora Brothers from Cuba, drawings, Red Zone Art Gallery, Verona.

    2009 - “Racconti di pietra”, Giuseppe Zorzi sculptures, Red Zone Art Gallery, Verona.

    2008 - "Paesaggi”, Gaetano Cipriani paintings Red Zone Art Gallery, Verona.

     

    PUBLICATIONS

    2006 - “Meschac Gaba and the temporary Museum of Contemporary African Art”.

    Africa e Mediterraneo, n. 55.

     

    COLLECTIONS

    Works held in private collections in Belgium and Italy.