Subdue 2022

Martine Johanna made this painting, Subdue, sometime in the 20th century, and it’s a trip. It’s like she started with something figurative, then let it dissolve into pure color and energy. I imagine Johanna in her studio, wrestling with the image, adding layer upon layer. There’s this push and pull between the figure, her hair, her expression, and then the almost electric blue, like ocean waves, but made of light. It looks like she’s trapped in a net of something, it could be of her own making. That blue against the flesh tones is a classic combo, but here, it's turned up to eleven. It makes you feel something, right? Like a memory, a feeling, something almost, but not quite, out of reach. I’ve seen similar in the work of other artists, that dance between representation and abstraction, each feeding the other. It's like one big conversation through paint! And as always, the painting remains open, a space for you to project your own experience, your own story.