ARTIST STATEMENT
I grew up in a small village between Venice and the Italian Alps, always yearning to leave. I’ve spent most of my life in different places, living and traveling elsewhere. However, a few years ago, I found solace and inspiration in my studio, which happens to be an attic room overlooking the river in my hometown. The sounds of nature have become the backdrop for my artistic endeavor. Yet, I’m aware that this tranquillity is not mine to keep indefinitely. Through my brushstrokes, I seek to find meaning in the world around me, give voice to restlessness and indignation. My artworks are my way of understanding and reinterpreting reality. They represent a subjective and feminine attempt to portray the human condition in all its frailty, as we continuously seek a delicate equilibrium amidst the beauty of imperfection and impermanence, and strive to withstand the impact of reality. Art is a restorative gesture, it embodies the force of necessity. Painting is breathing. ‘The void that remains’ series serve as a contemporary metaphor: the ongoing reports of targeted operations followed by the counting of collateral damage, the lives that weren’t meant to be part of this tally. I sought images to depict the interruption of daily life, the void, the absence, and the suspension of normalcy. I painted everyday objects unbalanced in the surface of the canvas, so as to highlight the remaining emptiness: it’s akin to having a before and an after, where in the after, nothing remains the same.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
I graduated in Art from the University of Bologna and specialized in Contemporary Art from the School of Specialization in Historical and Artistic Heritage of the University of Siena. I received a Master in Intercultural Studies from the University of Padua and I have alternated my studies in Italy with long periods abroad (thanks to scholarships or during Artistic residency), in particular in Portugal, Canada, Argentina and Uruguay. Travelling has always been an essential part of my artistic and personal research, both in the past and present. I obtained my teaching qualification from the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice. I have exhibited solo shows in various Italian cities and have participated in group shows, both in Italy and abroad. In open calls, I have been both shortlisted and have received awards. My works can be found in private collections and in Art Galleries.
For further information you can look at my website: www.martinadallastella.com
© Martina Dalla Stella