ARTIST PROFILE

Martina Smutná

  • Czech Republic (b. 1989 in Kyjov)
  • Currently in Prague, Czech Republic.
Tighten / Cuddle / BDSM mama

Tighten / Cuddle / BDSM mama

  • 2020

  • series of paintings

  • Too tight
  • Cuddle
  • Bdsm
  • Blue Onion / Rosacea / Dinner - thumbnail Tighten / Cuddle / BDSM mama - thumbnail

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    Beyond nuclear family | 2020

Martina Smutná created a series of paintings with the common denominator of family bonds as mirrors of social and cultural norms as well as fragile layers of family symbiosis and mutuality. A functional family based on equal relations and emotional satisfaction is often more utopian in today’s society than bizarre sci-fi scenarios. By depicting a mother and a child with identical faces, Martina Smutná addresses the issue of the generational transfer of traditions and the preservation of “sameness” which is the goal of conservative politics. However, the painting can also be seen as a portrait of a woman who does not lose her sexuality due to motherhood. On the contrary, by mirroring herself in her daughter, she discovers unexpected pleasures. The second painting of a mother embracing her adult daughter accentuates the moment of mutual support, a two-way flow of information as well as complex emotions. Healing these fundamental relations could be the key to the visions of a future society that does not stick to existing hierarchies and cultural and biological “predetermination”. Karina Kottová