Reflections Unfolding by Maartje Blans

The works of Blans are “unusual” paintings, endowed with a highly

sculptural nature: white wooden panels on which alluring abstract

forms (Fleeting and Fugace), made of transparent material, fabric,

black ink and other media, stand as on a stage waiting to be

activated by the light, be it natural or artificial. Once projected onto

the artwork, the light reveals the existence of a secret world hidden

just beneath the surface of the visible and physical dimension. The

viewer is thus intrigued by the existence of multiple layers

encapsulated within the works of Blans, both from a physical and

ontological point of view. The first layer visible is the actual scene

dominating the outer surface of the piece with its physicality and

illuminated by natural light: the realm of reality perceived and

recorded by the viewer’s eye, unveiled even to the casual observer.

The second layer corresponds to a more secluded dimension,

disclosed within and at the same time thanks to the presence of

the empty spaces left on the wooden panels employed and that

become alive only under certain lighting conditions. This dimension

is the site where the ethereal shadows projected by the physical

shapes portrayed in the piece intermingle with each other and

merge with the inward reflections produced by the viewer’s eye of

the mind: it is the point where the mental and the physical

converge. By contemplating a work endowed with evocative rather

than mimetic qualities, the observer engages into a process of

inspection that soon leads towards unexplored emotional yet

physical realms. Therefore, Blans’ works find their ultimate reason

for being in the gaze of the beholder that completes them and,

from a certain point of view, even undermines the possibility of a

unique, preferential visual solution.

The use of virtuosic yet extemporaneous lines to shape images along

with the insightful intermingling of full and empty spaces in artworks

like Fleeting convey a sense of rhythm to the compositions and bears

affinities to the iconography of traditional Chinese painting. Also in

Blans’ pieces the void rises to a dynamic role being far more than a

mere backdrop, a non-space or the site of emptiness: it is the crucial

element allowing movement and action, both physically and

psychically. By being complementary to the solid sculptural parts in

the composition, the void creates a ground for experience, a space for

one to live in, and to loose oneself within. The powerful connection

between the filled and the empty spaces is made possible by the

particular use of a comprehensive visual vocabulary made of fabric,

thread, transparent material, sand, tree branches, rooted once again

in Blans’ enamourement with the feeling conveyed by each specific

material. Despite their extreme concreteness, each of these elements

vividly grasps and puts forth the transient nature of all natural

phenomena, their fragility and temporariness.

In this way Blans’ works invite the viewer to confront not just what

lies bare in front of one’s eyes, but also what lies beyond the physical

limits of the gaze. They are visual reminders of the fact that what

one sees is a fragment of a larger continuum perceivable both physically and psychically.

Done