Latente
Modernity in art was marked by the search for new forms of expression in a world that had witnessed enormous transformations, as never before, and traumatic experiences that affected the whole of humanity. A new reality needed a different language with which to represent the changes experienced. Artists such as Braque or Picasso stopped being satisfied with a flat dimension of the support and began to assemble objects, photographs and all kinds of materials in their works, thus creating other textures that gave rise to the collage.
We could not understand 20th century art without this technique, just as we could not understand the work of Miriam Martínez Abellán without the female figure, always present and protagonist. The Dadaism of Hannah Höch or the paintings of Leonora Carrington have also been two of her references in this respect.
We are before the gaze of a sui generi conceptual artist, since the ideas conveyed by her works are as important as the formal and sensitive aspects of them. Added to this is a surrealist vision that expresses itself with an aesthetic full of symbols. Therefore, nothing represented is fortuitous and in everything there is a universal or personal sense that the spectator can deduce. In Latente, some old mollusc-shaped cards cover the faces of some divas of the 1950s and not only dilute them in anonymity, but also mean much more in this new context, filling it with connotations: personal evolution, protection, intimacy or pure sensuality. All the elements in his works invite us to investigate, which makes them so attractive. The suggestive title already puts you in a position to search for what exists but is hidden.
In Miriam’s work, the many materials she uses for her creations are striking, as they are fundamental to understanding her modus operandi. The evolution in the use of the same throughout its history marks a before and after. In this exhibition, which brings together works from various series, you can see this purification in the components: from the copious use of recycled objects that characterized its beginnings, to the simplicity of methacrylate combined with acrylic in the most recent. The vintage images, however, are an unaltered remnant, a consequence of his taste for the retro and that surround his iconography in a nostalgic and seductive air.
An idea, a theme, an image, an image, a song, an object found in some street, in some second-hand market are an inspiring pretext for something higher. It is all part of a continuous process of reflection on the experience lived and research into what each new journey offers the artist. A meticulous and delicate handmade work that oozes sensitivity and sense of taste, the result of an incessant search. Also noteworthy are the almost perfect finishes, which are even more praiseworthy when it comes to analogue technology.
In Latente we can see works of recent creation made specifically for this room of La Casa del Mar in Mazarrón. Other works from previous series complete the exhibition, such as those exhibited at the Siyâsa Museum in Cieza, the Casa Pintada de Mula Foundation and the Espacio Pático de Murcia Foundation, among others. 30 works, produced between 2015 and 2017, in which the support chosen by the artist is the painted wooden table or high-quality Fabriano paper.
Each work by Miriam Martínez Abellán is a self-portrait, a corner in which to dream, a story in which the spectator is the narrator and in which each one can write their own ending or begin their own particular journey.
Nono García (Curator of the exhibition)