14 April – 16 April 2023

Booth E20, Fieramilano_city, Milan

Opening reception: Thursday, April 13, 11–8pm

For Miart 2023 we are pleased to present a solo show by emergent London-based artist Natalia González Martín (1995, Spain). Borrowing the formal qualities of icon painting, Natalia’s work explores the inscriptions of the cultural heritage on one’s physical body of moral codes. The artist has been known to explore the strong influence of western traditions that have prevailed over for centuries through different modes of adaptation to match the sensitivity of each epoch

Adopting the imagery from the Femme à la toilette tradition of painting, which portrays women during the act of washing in the quiet intimacy of the domestic space, she argues that today’s version of this passive and superficial representation of women still has a strong presence in our current society under the term of self-care. This marketing tool, which appears to us camouflaged under feminist terminology, claims that extensive physical improvement will eventually translate internally, giving a fake hope that we will come out of these ritualistic sessions a better human. During the pandemic this industry grew exponentially as we were all trying to gain a sense of control over our life.

This new series of paintings depict lounging nude women, apparently content in a blissful state of calm. However, this sense of apparent calm is disturbed after a closer look; the expression behind these women's eyes reveals a gloomy truth of dullness, boredom, and emptiness. They are completely uninspired by this Sisyphean task of self-grooming no matter how much they try. The soft pastel palette sparks an odd sense of familiarity, not only because these were the colors often used for these scenes by artists like Degas, Cassat or Bonnard, but they also remind us of the (un)threatening childish aesthetic of beauty brands which we are constantly bombarded with.

By merging these two seemingly disparate references, the paintings bring to our attention the similarities between them; representations of women, which are often stereotypical and oversimplified. She questions how the now-criticized portrayal of women throughout art history isn’t very dissimilar to the image of womanhood we consume today. When looking at both side by side, it is hard to turn a blind eye to the fact that both embody the deeply rooted idea that, even when alone, the woman’s main focus is still her physical appearance. With this collection of works, Natalia questions the efficacy of these self-imposed routines as tools for liberation and self-realization

‘Many times, I have succumbed to this idea that I will suddenly gain a sense of control over my life by putting on a face mask, but when I catch my reflection, I cannot unsee the long tradition of abulic women in paintings that dedicate their free time to the preservation of their physical attributes. I never feel that much better after using a bath bomb, or some overcomplicated multi step face routine, I only feel like I am (quite literally) flushing money down the drain.’