Subdue 2022

Martine Johanna's painting Subdue seems to float in a haze of unreal color. It's like she's chasing after something just out of reach, a feeling more than a scene. Look at the way she builds up the paint, thin layers, almost transparent. You can sense her hand moving, searching, each stroke adding to the story. The blues are icy, watery, like she’s submerged. Then, these pops of orange and red beneath the surface, like hidden embers. It’s a dance of cool and warm that feels unsettling, and yet, intimate. And those watery, blue lines weaving around her body? They remind me of Agnes Martin's grids, but looser, more organic. Both artists use repetition, but where Martin seeks a kind of serene order, Johanna embraces something more fluid and uncertain. Like life, this painting is full of ambiguities, inviting us to get lost in its currents.