Dani Marti

Dani Marti (*1963 in Barcelona) is one of Australia's most exciting artists to have recently emerged to international acclaim, both charming and challenging audiences, curators, and critics alike with his unorthodox combination of hand-woven "canvases" and video documentary. Connecting the two media is the concept of portraiture or, as Marti suggests, its inability to get beneath the surface of family, friends, lovers, and strangers. These psychological, sociological, emotional, and often graphic physical depictions push ethical boundaries, raising difficult questions about relationships, gay encounters, intimacy, and trust while questioning the role of the artist, the power of the video camera, and the cultural politics of the viewer. With his woven works, Marti's questioning turns to wider notions of portraiture and sexuality in Modernism, Minimalism, and geometric abstraction.