Celeste Martínez' traumatic realism....
10:11 a.m.
27/08/19 - Hal Foster wrote that some artists are moved by their ambition to inhabit a place of total affection, while others condemn us to focus on some “terrible reality” contained in their production.
Celeste Martínez (Córdoba, Argentina, 1973) seduces us with artworks of apparent beauty. She makes us move closer to her dresses and objects and, once we are close enough, we discover this terrible reality that Foster described as a “traumatic realism”.
Untitled 1, from the Series "Vestimenta para una Niña Urbana", by Celeste Martínez (2006)
The quasi-dress, which belongs to architect José Luis Lorenzo’s collection and was presented at Espacio Colón as part of the exhibition ¿Qué cuerpos? ¿Qué lenguajes? Representaciones subjetivas y modelos preconcebidos de género, sexo y deseo (a side show to MAC Fair in Córdoba), has been injected by Celeste with a red liquid into the cells of its geometrical design, resembling a Piet Mondrian painting. The liquid looks like blood, although it’s aged wine. However, the effect works.
Colección Bugliotti, by Celeste Martinez
Córdoba
In another private collection, Celeste Martinez’s objects are displayed in a cabinet, which is perfect for observing in detail the different daily pieces: a flowerpot, a mirror, a candy jar. All of them are made of white porcelain, with a strange spotted pattern. As we get closer, and read the explanation of what we are seeing, we discover the drama behind them. The spots were taken from dermatological studies of malignant melanomas. According to the artist, this is her approach to illness as a metaphor to the vulnerability of the social system.
The artworks become aggressive once we decipher their true meaning. Little can be said when the harsh reality of an illness is displayed before us, masqueraded with a beautiful artwork. Celeste attracts us through deceit and then pushes us into the abyss.
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