Martha Grünenwaldt

1910 – 2008, Belgium

The artistic activity of Martha Grünenwaldt began in 1981, when she was seventy-one. On the back of a poster or wallpaper, she drew brightly coloured pictures with a woman as the apparent centre point. Beside and around the face she painted birds, a violinist, plant motifs, even buildings.
Over the years, these motifs took over the space from the portraits and in some cases became a tangle of vegetation obscuring Martha completely.

Her drawing is an entrenched camp but not a fortress; it is a space that she keeps for herself, open to life, to another life, past or dreamt.