Self-portrait
1982–84Watercolor on paper121.5 × 151 cm
In its transformation of personal experience into artistic language, Martha Jungwirth’s work occupies a liminal space between memory and representation. Her painting defies any categorization, moving smoothly between abstraction and certain traces of figuration. Through her gestural brushwork and chromatism rich in emotional resonances, Jungwirth explores the tension between the tangible and the inapprehensible, between presence and absence.
Jungwirth’s earliest works are characterized by an intuitive and visceral approach, which merges elements of Abstract Expressionism with a raw, immediate energy. Over time, the artist went on to develop broader experimentation and incorporate watercolor and oil to transcend the limits of control and spontaneity. Despite the artist’s abstract sensitivity, portraiture remains a recurring theme in her production, although never in a conventional sense. Instead of a faithful representation, Jungwirth condenses the essence and character of the subject, dissolving the physical form into expressive brushstrokes and washes of color. In her own words: “It was never important to me for people to recognize things in my pictures. I wanted to paint in such a way that things can’t be identified, that there is room for something different, that the gestural aspect and my own personal nature come to expression.”[1]
Jungwirth's self-portraits in particular offer a deeply introspective exploration of her identity, as exemplified in her Self-Portrait (Selbstporträt) created between 1982 and 1984. Painted using watercolor on pale yellow paper, the piece adopts the fluidity and unpredictability of the medium. Unlike the amendable nature of oils, watercolor leaves an indelible record of each mark, making process indistinguishable from result. In the composition, restrained yet driven by emotion, the artist’s head is rendered in shades of sienna. The features seem to have dissolved on the paper: hair is a mere suggestion, and hands and body are notably absent. The face is only distinguished through a blurred representation of the eyes and nose, while the artist’s characteristic burgundy lips become the only personal attribute discernible within the image.
However, even this feature is unstable. Filtering into the paper, the burgundy pigment stains the area under the right eye where the color streaks downward, mirroring the way makeup runs when one cries. The effect is disturbing and reinforces the idea of identity as something fluctuating, not permanent. The unfinished feel of this portrait is an affirmation that its expressive power lies precisely in its openness. Through this radical economy of form, Jungwirth reveals an image of herself that is both intimate and elusive, inviting viewers to contemplate the fragility and mutability of identity itself.
[1] Interview with Hans-Ulrich Obrist in Martha Jungwirth: Panta Rhei. Verlag für moderne
Kunst, Vienna, 2019, p. 122. Ed. esp.: Martha Jungwirth, cat. expo., Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Bilbao, 2024, p. 30.
Original title
Selbstporträt
Date
1982–84
Medium/Materials
Watercolor on paper
Dimensions
121.5 × 151 cm
Credit line
Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa