Friction 2016

Curator: "Friction," painted in 2016 by Martine Johanna—I'm just struck by the light. It's so evocative; it feels both dreamy and a bit…raw. Editor: There’s definitely an interesting push-and-pull happening. The soft palette contrasted against these almost violently geometric shapes – the pale pinks, the light teals... they create a fascinating tension with the composition's hard edges. Curator: Exactly. Her hand pressed against her cheek... it suggests this internal pressure. Look at how Johanna renders skin tone, though. The model is flushed, and she seems self-aware or contemplative about how she's percieved. It seems like the very notion of smoothness, the airbrushed ideal we are fed, has 'friction' in it! Editor: That friction manifests in the painterly quality, the brushstrokes left visible and almost exaggerated, particularly around the hand. It disrupts any sense of flawless beauty we might expect from the subject. This really disrupts classical notions of idealized representation. Curator: Yes, it's not just a pretty face. There's depth, complexity, like she’s grappling with something unseen. The way Johanna uses those pale pastels makes this image feel both present, because the model's clearly contemporary, and removed, as though it's extracted from some timeless meditation about selfhood. Editor: The geometry could suggest that this tension extends beyond personal struggle, even mirroring a kind of structural violence embedded within the artistic form itself. Curator: That’s a powerful reading, adding another layer to the emotional intensity. For me, it emphasizes the portrait’s psychological impact, as it evokes intimate emotions within this very stylised presentation. Editor: It certainly pushes at the boundaries of portraiture, going beyond mere representation to explore broader questions about aesthetics and the construction of identity. Curator: This is why I am so fascinated by Johanna's paintings; that ability to marry an intimacy and an almost cold formality together. She makes us ask: who is she painting, and also why is she being painted this way. Editor: Agreed. It's a work that stays with you, prompting more questions than answers.