Ana Martínez Fernández
Mora un trapo
10.06. - 31.07.2023

<sub>“The most wanted scent
made from the unwanted.
(...)
So before is too late,
let us (s)pray
to the god of waste,
our dear lord of leftovers.”

— Etienne de Swardt,
on Les Fleurs du Déchet - I Am Trash, Eau de Parfum by État Libre D’Orange,  perfume description</sub>


Mala is pleased to present Mora un trapo, Ana Martínez Fernández' first solo exhibition in Portugal.

Her practice, fundamentally sculptural, moves in a field informed by written and spoken language, and by the gesture-material-image relationship. Her work addresses certain visual and literary references, delving deeper and exploring the dynamics of attraction to these references. From the paradoxical and contradictory mechanisms of desire, it is intended to investigate the gesture of personal and collective intimacy through a practice that makes, repeats, makes, extracts and enables new associations.
At Mala she presents a large-scale sculpture that occupies most of the gallery space’s floor. Mora un trapo (2023) is composed of cotton, cornstarch and oak ash, and departs from the artist’s research on materials she has been developing in the past year. Using convenient materials, the artist pursues different strategies such as starching, pleating, as well as spatial and light cues to enhance the materials’ potential as visual and poetic signifiers. Her work entails the usage of cheeky elements and installation that engages with the visitors in a way that they relate and perceive a minimalist work.

Ana Martínez Fernández lives and works in Madrid. Martínez Fernández studied Fine Arts at the University of the Basque Country (Bilbao), as well as Contemporary Art Theory at Goldsmiths College (London). She presented the solo exhibitions SAM at Dràcula (Barcelona, 2022), Com/post at Idealfrühstück (Paris, 2022), S12iS12iS12i2iS12i2i2iS1 at Aparador Monteleon (Madrid, 2021). Other exhibitions include Pastora foley 2 at Artiatx (Bilbao, 2023), Fervor at Cibrián Gallery (Donostia, 2022). She was a resident at Matadero, Madrid in 2021 and she was the recipient A8 Prize at Torre de Don Borja. Upcoming exhibitions include a duo presentation at etHall (Barcelona) and a solo at new jörg (Vienna).

This exhibition is supported by Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.
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Photo: Beatriz Pereira, Courtesy of Mala and the artist.