Massey Klein company logo
Massey Klein
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • Artists
  • Exhibitions
  • Press
  • Contact
  • Viewing room
  • Collect
Cart
0 items $
Checkout

Item added to cart

View cart & checkout
Continue shopping
Menu

Martine Johanna: Balancing Act

Past exhibition
11 September - 24 October 2020
  • Overview
  • Installation Views
  • Press release
  • Press
Overview
Martine Johanna: Balancing Act

Massey Klein Gallery is pleased to announce Balancing Act, a solo exhibition of new paintings and drawings by Martine Johanna that continue the artist’s exploration of the female psyche. The paintings and drawings in the exhibition depict Johanna’s women in uncanny situations that draw attention to the subjects’ internal landscapes. This is the artist’s second solo with the gallery.

Share
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Email
Installation Views
  • Martine Johanna Balancing Act Massey Klein Gallery Install 5
  • Mg 1826 Edit
  • Martine Johanna Balancing Act Massey Klein Gallery Install 8
  • Martine Johanna Balancing Act Massey Klein Gallery Install 4
  • Martine Johanna Balancing Act Massey Klein Gallery Install 6
  • Martine Johanna Balancing Act Massey Klein Gallery Install 9
  • Martine Johanna Balancing Act Massey Klein Gallery Install 7
Close
Press release

The works in Balancing Act are vibrant and unsettled. Her heroines visibly grapple with the weight and tension of the expectations that society has placed on them. The figures’ internal dilemmas, made visible through concentrated facial expressions and calculated postures, spill into their surroundings, manifesting in rainbows, fractured and hemorrhaging color fields, and even levitating objects.

The artist’s focus on the interior thoughts and struggles of her subjects are depicted here through the relationship between the figure and interior setting and objects. One subject poses with a bowling ball on her head; in another, she uses her powerful gaze to suspend the object. Johanna pays special attention to commonplace domestic items. In Composure and Control, an intricate rug grounds the figure, while the background becomes fractured and ambiguous. In Critical Thinking, Release, and The Floor Is Lava, the figures are positioned confidently in and on chairs, suggesting leverage and power. Her subjects crowd their surroundings, flattening the pictorial space while conjuring feelings of urgency and immediacy.

Martine Johanna lives and works in The Netherlands. The artist received her BA and MA from the Institute of the Arts, Arnhelm, the Netherlands. Johanna has had international success exhibiting extensively in the Netherlands and abroad. Inspiration for her work include a mixture of childhood and autobiographical memories and experiences, documentaries on human nature, independent films, and history.

Balancing Act will be on view from Friday, September 11th until Saturday, October 24th.

For additional information regarding the exhibition, including works available, please email info@masseyklein.com.  Massey Klein Gallery is located at 124 Forsyth St. New York, NY 10002.  Gallery hours are by appointment only. To book an appointment, please visit our scheduling assistant here or call +1.917.261.4657.  


For additional information regarding the exhibition, including works available, please email info@masseyklein.com.  Massey Klein Gallery is located at 124 Forsyth St. New York, NY 10002.  Gallery hours are by appointment only. To book an appointment, please visit our scheduling assistant here.  

For press inquiries or questions about works available, please contact info@masseyklein.com or call +1.917.261.4657.

 

Press
  • Artist Profile, Martine Johanna solo at Massey Klein

    Dutch Culture USA, 26 September 2020
  • Artist Profile, Martine Johanna’s Balancing Act

    Juxtapoz, 21 September 2020
  • Artist Profile, Martine Johanna

    BOOOOOOOM, 16 September 2020

Related artist

  • Martine Johanna

    Martine Johanna

Back to exhibitions
Manage cookies
Copyright © 2023 MASSEY KLEIN
Site by Artlogic

Massey Klein Gallery 124 Forsyth Street New York, NY 10002 info@masseyklein.com

Instagram, opens in a new tab.
Artsy, opens in a new tab.

This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. Please contact us to find out more about our Cookie Policy.

Manage cookies
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences
Close

Join our mailing list

Signup

* denotes required fields

We will process the personal data you have supplied in accordance with our privacy policy (available on request). You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.