Martha Jungwirth Ohne Titel, 2020

For Martha Jungwirth, painting is understood as a transcendental form of expression that exists in a space ‘before spoken language [...] before memory [and] before the obtrusiveness of objects.’ She draws upon a rich breadth of influences, including travel, media, mythology and the history of art, to develop an idiosyncratic approach to painting. Garnering widespread critical acclaim, she conceives of the pictorial field as a ‘dynamic space’ of ‘action and passion’, synthesising her diverse references through a gestural application of paint. Executed in her signature palette of pinks and purples, Ohne Titel (2020) concentrates energised layers of paint on the right side of the painting. Balanced by the areas of exposed brown paper, the work is imbued with a lightness of touch, while scattered fingerprints convey Jungwirth’s conviction in the nature of painting as an embodied practice.

A solo exhibition of recent works by Martha Jungwirth, Looking the Goat in the Eye, is currently on view at Thaddaeus Ropac Seoul until 10 June 2023.