Going to museums is one thing I appreciate even more after not being able to for so long (thanks, COVID). The unspoken appreciation between strangers for all the art circulating throughout the various rooms is simply magical, and I often find myself looking through a different lens in museums than in “real life,” everything turns into art, including the other people in the room.
Marta Morientes is a London-based Spanish Creative and Art Director that beautifully visualized the museum experience through her book People In Museums Looking At Art. The book includes 14 paintings that are bold, colorful, and utterly exciting. A gorgeous work that begs the question, “what or who is art?”
The book:
‘People in museums looking at art’ is a coffee-table book that includes the 14 paintings of the series and two essays self-published by London-based Spanish artist Marta Morientes. “I first had the idea for the series that makes up this book during lockdown at the end of last year, a time when nobody could visit any museum in person. As a frequent museum-goer myself, I missed museums but not just for the art they show but for the whole museum experience. But what I like most about it is the people-watching aspect of a day out at the museum; it is endless entertaining to me and it’s to those people I wanted to pay tribute to in this series.”
The artist: I’m a London-based Spanish Creative and Art Director working in advertising and also (obviously) a painter. During the day, my job is to come up with concepts and ideas for the different clients my agency works with. My journey in advertising has so far been a successful one. I have won the D&AD New Blood Pencil Award twice and have worked at renowned UK agencies such as Publicis Poke and M&C Saatchi Talk, with a new contract starting soon at Mediamonks. When I’m not working in advertising, I am painting in my studio.
I have always found humour in the mundane and love exaggerating it with glamorous, almost theatrical, irony in my art. Last December an article introducing me and my work was published on It’s Nice That under the title: “Beach goers and iconic logos get an ironic makeover by Marta Morientes’ witty paintings”. This was a huge moment for me and I haven’t missed any opportunities to remind everyone I am now a published artist… Into 2021, I’ve been invited to donate three artworks for the charity art auction Art on a postcard and have been part of a couple of virtual exhibitions organized by Shrine NYC (New York) and Good Mother Gallery (San Francisco).
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