RESIDENCY: 29 JULY  -  18 AUGUST 2024
EXHIBITION: 18 - 30 AUGUST 2024

  

Castello San Basilio is proud to announce the opening of Book of Hours, a solo exhibition by Natalia González Martín. Marking the culmination of González Martín’s residency at the castle, the exhibition showcases a new body of work using traditional materials and techniques that pay homage to the rich history of its medieval manuscript illumination.

 

During her residency at Castello San Basilio, González Martín was deeply influenced by the castle's monastic community and surrounding landscape. Founded in the 10th century, the castle was initially used as a monastery by the Basilians and later by the Benedictines. Just as the monks were drawn to San Basilio’s quiet seclusion for a life of prayer and contemplation, González Martín explored themes of spirituality and the passage of time. The title Book of Hours references the medieval books of the same name used for prayer and meditation. Like González Martín’s works, often small and portable, these were lavishly decorated, reflecting both the spiritual devotion and wealth of their owners. Drawing inspiration from the techniques used by the monks, Gonzalez Martín created a series of small-scale egg tempera paintings on vellum, made of calf skin. This material, favoured in medieval manuscripts for its durability and smooth surface, allowed for precise and detailed depictions. The subjects of her work are often simple and familiar—a face or a basket of fruit. Adorned with gold leaf, applied using garlic juice, these paintings gleam with a radiance reminiscent of sacred icons.

 

Reimagining Catholic and mythological narratives through a contemporary lens, for Book of Hours González Martín explores the complex relationship between women and food. She portrays food as an offering, a pleasure, and a comfort, but also as a source of fear, temptation, and sin. This complex dynamic is reworked in countless narratives. In the Bible, man's downfall is blamed on Eve's appetite. 

 

In her surreal still lifes, González Martín features fruits that glisten with droplets of water, set against cloud-filled backgrounds. Recurring motifs in the works include the apple and fig - symbols associated with the Tree of Knowledge and temptation in Christianity - as well as grapes and peaches, which signify fertility and abundance. Inspired by local gastronomy, González Martín also depicts southern Italian cakes known as “Minne di Sant’Agata”, made in honour of the patron saint. These cakes, also referred to locally as “Tette delle Monache” (nuns’ breasts) or “Dolci delle Zite” (brides’ cakes), echo the ‘pure’ and ‘ethereal’ women portrayed in her work. Blurring hyperrealistic detail with fantastical elements, González Martín transforms the everyday into the extraordinary.

 

Natalia González Martín (b. 1995, Montejo de la Sierra, Madrid, Spain. Lives and works in London, UK) graduated with a BA in Fine Art from City & Guilds of London Art School in 2017. Her recent solo exhibitions include Lady into Fox at Galerie Sébastien Bertrand, Geneva, CH (2023); Fever of Happiness at Palazzo Monti, Brescia, IT (2023); A Change (Would Do You Good) at Hannah Barry Gallery, London, UK (2022); Las Soledades at Steve Turner, Los Angeles, US (2022) and I Am Unsure As To If It Is Still Alive at Quench Gallery, Margate, UK (2021). González Martín is curator of numerous exhibitions, her most recent being Illuminations, Steve Turner, Los Angeles, US (2023). She is also founder of Subsidiary Projects, a nomadic curatorial platform established in 2017.