Marjolein Rothman

dudokdegroot is interested in artists who explore the boundaries of their medium. In the work of Marjolein Rothman (1974), photography is an important point of reference; its supposed ability to freeze time. In series of paintings that share the same point of departure, Rothman demonstrates the impossibility of holding on to a moment and shows how the meaning of an image shifts with every gaze.

The paintings are made in a single, continuous session, with the focus on the act itself, on the performativity of painting. Rothman works quickly and concentrates on light, on the positive and negative space within the image. The moment of making is all-determining for Rothman; it coincides with the time captured in the painting. The image often exists in an in-between state; it emerges, much like the development process of analogue photography.

Rothman has painted flowers and plants from time to time because of their symbolic significance, combined with other archetypal images such as monuments and official portraits, which are connected to themes such as power and the human desire to ward off transience. For the past seven years, Rothman has focused on this theme, further exploring the function and meaning of light. Her most recent work is characterized by a strong contrast between darkness and light (chiaroscuro). Branches of leaves emerge from the darkness, creating compositions of quiet beauty.