Martina Merlini è un artista italiana il cui lavoro è conosciuto per la sua costante evoluzione.
A partire dalle illustrazioni, ha esplorato nuove tecniche e materiali che sono tutti riflettenti della sua ricerca di un equilibrio formale e di armonia geometrica. Negli ultimi anni, ha sviluppato e perfezionato la propria tecnica con cera e smalto, cercando di definire una crudezza che ricorda la tipica casualità della natura seppur conservando le regole invisibili che vi scorrono.
La giovane artista gioisce dell’esperienza e dell’apprendimento attraverso cui acquisisce la conoscenza del proprio sé. Questa nuova conoscenza acquisita permea attraverso una varietà di contesti espressivi come l’arte di strada e le installazioni.
Il lavoro della Merlini è stato esposto in tutta Europa e negli Stati Uniti dove è stata residente a White Walls & Shooting Gallery di San Francisco.
Continuando a esplorare la sottile linea tra realtà e fantasia, superando i confini, questa giovane artista italiana sta guadagnando sempre più riconoscimento con ogni opera che completa.
Martina Merlini is an Italian artist whose work is known for its constant evolution. Starting with illustrations, she explored new techniques and materials that are all reflective of her search for a formal balance and geometrical harmony. In the last years, she has developed and perfected her own technique using wax and enamel, trying to define a rawness that reminds of the typical casualty of nature, and yet the invisible rules that flow through. The young artist thrives on experience and learning through which she gains knowledge of her own self. This newly gained knowledge permeates through a variety of expressive contexts such as street art and installations.
In search of balance, Martina uses materials such as wax and varnishes on poor media like paper or wood. The quiet and powerful compositional balance is found when strict, geometrical lines juxtapose the flow of natural instinct and impulses. Born in 1986 in Bologne, Martina has come a long way, having a number of exhibitions dedicated to her. She has participated in a variety of events and festivals, including Living Walls, which was the first festival of street art done by women, in Atlanta, the USA in 2012, and the prestigious Le Mur in Paris in 2015.
As a keen researcher of human nature, Martina plays with geometrical lines, investigating the notion of limit in a subtle and refined way. Perpetually poised between the rational and the irrational, the artist utilizes dense pictorial traits symmetrical by nature to continue her research. As the lines begin to disjoint unexpectedly under the impulse of primordial forces. In a constant struggle with his own limitations, it is in human nature to turn elsewhere in search of a way to break the boundaries. The only way to surmount what seems to be an insurmountable barrier is with imagination. Only this way can the limits be re-invented and re-created, and the artist is the one who holds the power of manifesting and projecting these newly found limitless forms of expression.
Merlini’s work has been exhibited across Europe and the USA where she was on residency at White Walls & Shooting Gallery in San Francisco. Continuing to explore the thin line between reality and imagination, surmounting borders, this young Italian artist is gaining recognition with each piece she does.
2017
This Will Ruin Everything – Lighthouse, Glasgow
Varsi Collective Show – Varsi gallery, Roma
A410 Festival – Rifugio Brioschi – Vetta Grigna Settentrionale, Pasturo
Ten Ten – Le Raclet – Berlin
Forever Never Comes – Museo Archeologico di Grosseto
Two Years Anniversary – Athen B. Gallery, Oakland
Curved Installation #3 – Voci per la Libertà by Deltarte – Museo della bonifica, Taglio di Po
Endless – Magma Gallery, Bologna
Abstractism – curated by Altrove Festival – Varsi gallery, Roma
Reset – Athen B. Gallery, Oakland
2016
Triscele project w/ Moneyless & Sten Lex – Sicily
Todo en Orden – Celaya Brothers Gallery, Mexico City
Kwerschnitt – Schau Fenster, Berlin
Ready, Set. – Athen B. Gallery, Oakland CA
Exceptional – Scream Gallery, London
4Urban Tales – Magma Gallery, Bologna
2015
From the archaic to the internet archive – Egg Visual Art, Livorno
Dicotomia – Atipografia, Arzignano VI
Reminiscence goes to Ritmo – Ritmo Indipendente, Catania
XV classes project – St. Jean de Lux
Un dessin est beau si la lingne est vivante – Winterlog Gallery, Niort
House warming – Athen B. Gallery, Oakland
Restart Cassina – Cassina de Pecchi, Milano
Altrove / Abstractism – Casa Altrove, Catanzaro
Reminiscence – Mini Galerie, Amsterdam
Viavai – The Don gallery, Milano
La Bellezza fa 40 – Castello Carlo V, Lecce
Le Mur XIII – Paris
2014
Starch, Wax, Paper & Wood – White Walls, San Francisco CA
A Major Minority – 1AM gallery, San Francisco CA
Mamuthones, Issohadores – Superbudda, Torino
XXxXX – Studio D’Ars @ Step Art Fair, Milnao
Space//Squared – White Walls, San Francisco CA
Apertura – Mini Galerie, Amsterdam
Cheap Festival – Bologna
Altrove Festival – Catanzaro
Viavai Festival – Racale
2013
Razorsicht – Santeria, Milano
Memory and Ttraces – Edward Cutler gallery, Milano
Growing up – DFA partners, Milano
Memorie Urbane, Terracina
Totem – Officine della Stampa, Bologna
Drawings for the masses – 999 gallery, Roma
Garten – Superground, Milano
Berlini spring show – Stattbad, Berlin
I low art – Artcore gallery, Bari
WAX – Spazio Elastico, Bologna
Carta Canta – Antonio Colombo Artecontemporanea, Milano
2012
Asylum – Skitsch, Milano
A4GOD – Radio, Milano
Bubka – Santeria, Milano
G.E.N.T.E. mural – Milano
Ilfuturonelletuemani – Bra
Living Walls conference exhibition – Atlanta, GA
Essenziale – Nastro say yes, Milano
Attack festival – Palazzo Candiotti, Foligno
LEBE – an anthology of african gods – RAM Hotel, Bologna
Rodeo Drawing Night – Galleria Antonio Colombo Arte Contemporanea, Milano
LEBE – RADIO, Milano
Little Circus – Galleria Antonio Colombo Arte Contemporanea, Milano
A la sombra del árbol – Palacio Quintanar, Segovia
2011
Till Pink – Santeria, Milano
Centocinquanta – Macò, Taranto
Asylum w/ Tellas – Zelle ArteContemporanea, Palermo
Super 8 – Santeria, Milano
Sweets Sheets – Zelle Artecontemporanea, Palermo
2010
Loop – Assab One Milano, Tiendaderecha, Barcellona – Temporary Love Shop, Roma – Fragile Continuo, Bologna – Cantere S. Bernardo, Pisa
Illustrators award – Bologna Childrens book fair
Pop disaster by Limited Art Gallery,Bergamo
Asylum w/Tellas – There’s no place like home , Milano – FragileContinuo, Bologna.
