978-94-93329-18-8

Mainstudio (Edwin van Gelder, Moritz Eggmann)

208

16.5 x 23 cm

Paperback

Made possible with the generous support of the Mondriaan Fund, Jaap Harten Fonds, and museum van Bommel van Dam

On 7 July, the publication Chronic Monochrome by artist Tirzo Martha will be released. This publication, edited by Eleonoor Jap Sam and designed by Mainstudio's Edwin van Gelder, focuses on the eponymous series of some 30 near-white works from 2021-2022.  Martha previously presented these white monochrome installations in 2022 under the title Chronic Monochrome at the Museo di Kòrsou and at his studio Fruteria Bashí  on the Capriles Clinic site.

 The works were created after the artist was admitted to hospitals in Colombia and Curaçao in 2018 following a heart infection, and also mark a turning point in Martha's oeuvre. A selection from this series is also on display in the Netherlands for the first time in the Intensive Care exhibition at museum van Bommel van Dam.
Authors Adi Martis and Rob Perrée elaborate on the themes in this series and its position within Martha's oeuvre in their contributions in the book. In an intimate interview, curator Sjors Bindels talks to Tirzo Martha about his position as an artist in the Netherlands and Curaçao. Previously, Jap Sam Books published the monograph Tirzo Martha - I'll wonder if they'll laugh when I'm dead (Jap Sam Books, 2017).

This second monograph on the work of artist Tirzo Martha (Willemstad, Curacao 1965) offers a compelling complilation of his newest art works, mixed media performances and installations.

With text contributions by Tirzo Martha, Sjors Bindels, Adi Martis, Rob Perrée

Tirzo Martha started his education on Curacao at the local Academia di Arte Korsou in 1985. From there he received a special grant to study in Utrecht, the Netherlands, at the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten where he moved towards fashion design, and in 1989 (until 1991) he was selected to follow up on his education at the private Frans Molenaar Fashion School. In the period 1991-1992 he decided to turn around his career and went back to Curacao, to develop himself as a socially engaged artist.

He is a co-founder of the Instituto Buena Bista – Curacao Center for Contemporary Art and exhibited his autonomous work and public interventions in the Netherlands, Curacao, Germany, Portugal, Martinique, Santo Domingo and the US.

This autonomous publication was published simultaneously with the solo exhibition 'Tirzo Martha – Intensive Care' at Museum van Bommel van Dam in Venlo (April 13,2024 – August 4, 2024).