Peter MARTENSEN

Peter Martensen – Museum

An Asian woman in a chef’s uniform. A man with tinted spectacles and checkered trousers in a miniscule boat. A herd of white-coated specialists in a wind-swept landscape. A young blond girl beneath a man’s hand. They are all on show in Peter Martensen’s Museum.

Peter Martensen has chosen the title ‘Museum’ for the exhibition of his new paintings. He does this, with a knowing twinkle in the eye, in order to highlight his extremely tradition conscious approach to painting. The title simultaneously plays on the fact that we take a peek into Peter Martensen’s mental museum in order to view his personal experiences, dreams, thoughts and impressions which are converted into enigmatic scenarios of which only he knows the source.

In French the word ‘museum’ has a sombre, rather Germanic sound to it. At first glance, a certain gravity does indeed pervade several of Martensen’s figures. Their uniformed shapes and grave faces radiate seriousness and efficiency. Yet, in Martensen’s imagery they remain strangely removed from any meaningful context. He has taken something away, cropped and neutralized the otherwise recognizable motifs, so that the familiar and usual appear as enigmatic to the spectator. The specialist, to whom we ordinarily listen to with respect; the worker, from whom we ordinarily expect a useful product; the adult, who ordinarily conducts himself with reason – all suddenly appear mildly absurd, helpless, involuntarily comical at times. These figures from Martensen’s mental “collection” have been converted into objects for show. Like artworks in a museum they seem void of practical functionality or utility. They are just there, inviting the spectator to study and interpret them.

The leading role in Martensen’s paintings has always been the color white. When he is captivated by a woman in a chef’s uniform or a herd of white-coated scientists, it is principally due to the play of light upon the white surfaces and textures. In Martensen’s hands, everyday objects such as cardboard boxes and sheets of paper become elements of formal imagery that he places in his compositions after thorough consideration. Compared to earlier works, however, the new paintings have been made using a less controlled process. Martensen has always nourished a profound love for the act of painting. In recent years, he has increasingly allowed himself to be seduced during the act of painting letting himself be carried by the unctuous oil paint along unexpected pathways.

Where formerly the idea was fixed before painting, recently he has worked more intuitively, allowing the motifs to emerge in the process. Indeed, he does still work from photographs but only as an initiator. The importance being what emerges whilst he paints, which to Martensen is uncontrollable and unpredictable. At the same time he claims to be so seduced by the oils that he is blinded as he paints. When later he gains distance to the canvas, the immediate, sensual desire retires to the background; along with the analytical gaze comes doubt.

The dialectics of desire and doubt are fundamental to Martensen. Doubt is productive. It sharpens his gaze, so that he may see whether he has accomplished the conversion of his interior imagery into something with general appeal. He himself calls his method ‘mental realism’. The motifs are founded on personally experienced events, reflections and visions, but the aim is not the narration of private stories. Rather, his interest lies in condensing and converting that which personally moves or intrigues him into images of universal interest. In all discretion, we are invited to approach from a new angle, a reality we thought we knew so well.

Merete Sanderhoff

Translated from Danish by Morten Sigsgaard and Deborah Fruchter