Marina Cruz
Subtitle: breathing patterns
By: with a text by Kira Jürjens and an interview with the artist by Philipp Bollmann ; editors: Matthias Arndt, Tiffany Wood ; texts: Matthias Arndt (foreword), Philipp Bollmann (interview), Kira Jürjens (essay) ; translation: Ann Marie Bohan
Contributors: Jürjens, Kira; Bollmann, Philipp; Arndt, Matthias, 1968-; Wood, Tiffany
Publisher: Distanz; Gestalten, distributor
Published: 2017
Place of publication: Berlin; Berlin
Language: eng
Number of pages: 93
ISBN-13: 9783954761944
Subjects: Catalogs; Trompe l'oeil painting; Abstract Painting; Clothing and dress in art
Other titles: Breathing patterns
Description: The paintings of the Philippine artist Marina Cruz (b. Quezon City, Philippines, 1982; lives and works in Bulacan) blend abstract harmonies of color with trompe-l'Œil depictions. Her motifs are dresses her late grandmother sewed for her mother and aunt. They bear the imprints of the grandmother's manual craftsmanship as well as the wearers' bodies and experiences. Not unlike an archaeologist, Cruz reveals these traces in the folds and deep grooves, the vibrant chromatic textures and fragile lineaments of the fabrics. In some pictures the haunting beauty of the surfaces has suffered the ravages of time, while in others stains and tears seem to hint at incidents of violence and bodily injury. At a time when clothes are increasingly short-lived mass products, Cruz's works read as an ode to the tailor's trade and to garments as a record of history.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.