"Perhaps I translate it somewhat abstract, but it is about the dynamics between light and dark, about the appearance and disappearance of colors and shapes, just as it is the case with people and situations.”
Eline Martherus' practice unfolds at the intersection of nature, material, and human experience. Her paintings draw from the rhythms and cycles of the natural world, translating processes of growth, movement, and transformation into abstract compositions that feel both intuitive and alive. Martherus is concerned with exploring and absorbing nature's internal logic - its continual state of flux - allowing forms and colours to appear, dissolve, and reconfigure across the surface of the canvas. The resulting works evoke environments in motion, where no single element remains dominant for long.
At the core of the artist's practice is an ongoing engagement with societal dynamics and the relationships between individuals within an increasingly polarised society. These tensions surface through the shifting interplay of light and dark, density and openness, control and chance. For Martherus, nature offers not an escape from social complexity, but a lens through which it can be analysed and reimagined: a system in which opposing forces are not resolved but held in balance through movement and adaptation
Eline Martherus (b. 1992) holds a BFA from the Amsterdam Fashion Institute and is based in Amsterdam. Recent solo exhibitions of her work include 'I Bought You Flowers' in 2022 and 'I Never Promised You a Rose Garden' in 2024 at Hama Gallery, Amsterdam. Martherus undertook a residency with Arteventura in Seville, Spain in 2022, and has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including shows at Hama Gallery, Arts Gallery, Noordwijk, and Galerie Philia in New York and Texas.
