Cartonage on linen and od wallpaper, 2014, 75 x 63 CM

A Face Assembled from Fragments and Memory
In this work by Mart Visser, the portrait does not emerge from paint, but from fragments. Narrow strips of material are assembled into a face that feels both present and fragile. The head appears to hover against a background of raw linen, divided into two horizontal fields: a warm, earthy brown above and a muted, chalky white below. This clear division brings calm and structure, while the face itself introduces tension and unease. The lines are sharp, sometimes almost cutting, and follow no anatomical logic but an inner rhythm. Eyes, nose, and mouth are only suggested. What remains is not a recognizable individual, but a human form that reads like a memory — constructed, vulnerable, and incomplete.

Material, Relief, and the Power of Restraint
Mart Visser employs collage and assemblage here as a primary visual language. The material is not concealed or refined; it is deliberately left exposed. The layered strips cast shadows, lift away from the surface, and give the work a subtle three-dimensional presence. The portrait seems to pull itself forward, yet is held in place by the strict order of the composition. The restrained palette — browns, blacks, greys, and off-whites — heightens this effect. Nothing distracts from form, structure, and gesture. The solid, dark wooden frame encloses the work with quiet authority, functioning as a boundary that contains the tension within. The result is a piece of contemporary figurative art that does not demand attention, but slowly claims it. A work that lingers precisely because of what it withholds.