About Ma Ani's work

Ma Ani is currently working on a series of figurative acrylic paintings composed of flat-coloured "zones" using the hard-edge technique. Each zone is delimited with masking tape, then covered with 5 to 12 layers of paint depending on the hue.

 

The difficulty level of a painting is determined by two factors: the number of colours used and the number/size of the zones.

 

Once all colours are applied (approximately 80-120 per canvas), the artist goes over each of them with a tiny size 000 brush to ensure no zone encroaches on its neighbour's territory.

 

Ma Ani has named the technique: Geometric Blur. The lines are straight, sometimes sharp, but together they create an image devoid of details, rather imprecise.

 

Often, the faces of the characters are truncated. When this happens, it's not because their expression seemed uninteresting or unattractive, but because it was unnecessary to show them to capture the strength of the image. When the face is present, it adds an indispensable dimension to the message conveyed by the artwork.

This technique fits perfectly with the personality of the artist. Straight lines, constraints, solid and polished colours soothe Ma Ani, who has Asperger's autism. Spending hundreds of hours hunched over her easel makes her perfectly happy.

Fashion has a huge influence on Ma Ani's paintings, because she considers it to be one of the most avant-garde art forms there is. In addition, as a giant (6 feet 2 inches), designer clothes are not accessible to her, so if she can't wear them, she satisfies her love of gorgeous clothes by painting them.