Hand-Painted Wall c. 1938

Martin Partyka created this 'Hand-Painted Wall', we don't know when, but we do know it was made with paint! The way the artist applied the paint to create this floral pattern, suggests artmaking is a process, like a dance between intention and accident. If you look closer, you can see the physicality of the medium. The paint isn't trying to hide its presence, it is neither thin nor thick. The brushstrokes are visible, and the colour is opaque. The texture of the wall shows through, adding depth and grittiness to the image. See how the lattice weaves across the surface of the wall, it is both a structural and decorative element, adding a sense of order and rhythm to the piece as a whole. This use of pattern and repetition relates to the work of artists such as Gustav Klimt, who also embraced decorative motifs. But unlike Klimt’s art nouveau precision, this work embraces ambiguity and multiple interpretations.