Enchantment and Illusion

To explore Michela Martello’s art is to be absorbed into a world of sacred femininity. Layers of color on canvas create the backdrop for ethereal figures and animals, often posed in powerful yet playful forms. Some pieces depict spread-legged women locked in a tantric embrace. Others feature wrathful goddesses sporting multiple arms or an animal’s head. More subtly, pieces such as Retreat Allegory and Spy Story provide hints of the female form through silhouettes, body parts, and partially concealed faces, inviting the viewer to flex their imaginative muscles.

The use of symbols itself is meant to spark curiosity, an aspect of art Martello describes as “magic” in an artist statement for Leaping Clear magazine. “[Symbols] form a mysterious and refined language, at times deep, at times on the surface, until suddenly their story appears from the unconscious.”

Artistically centering women’s experiences comes naturally to Martello.

Born in Grosseto, Italy, and raised in Milan, Martello spent three years studying illustration at Istituto Europeo di Design before moving to New York City—where she lives today—in 1986. Though she initially worked as a waitress and freelance illustrator, she quickly transitioned to creating multimedia art full-time. As her career grew, Martello was introduced to Tibetan Buddhism through her therapist, who was a student of the Dzogchen teacher Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche (1938–2018).

Practicing Dzogchen profoundly transformed Martello’s creative process in many ways. “Without my meditation practice, I don’t think I would be where I am now, in every sense,” she continues in her Leaping Clear statement. “Daily practice helps me to stay focused and to develop an energy flow that makes me feel more in union with me and reality, understanding at the same time that this reality is illusory, like a beautiful paradox that makes me smile.” In addition to the benefits of meditation, Tibetan Buddhism also introduced Martello to a body of religious imagery—including deities such as dakinis, or sky dancers, which are now fixtures in her work.

Artistically centering women’s experiences comes naturally to Martello. A vocal feminist, she collaborates often with Pen & Brush, a nonprofit dedicated to gender equity in the arts. She told Tricycle in a 2019 interview that while much of the imagery depicts a particular experience, the message of empowerment behind it is universal. “You certainly don’t have to be a woman, a Buddhist, or an iconography expert to relate to dakini energy,” she said.

Martello’s works on canvas, such as Tears of Joy and Perfect Storm, are created by applying acrylic paint to swatches of repurposed fabrics like linen, silk, and vintage clothing materials. Sometimes, she adds hand-embroidered elements for more texture and detail. The resulting pieces are as intricate as they are arresting.

“You certainly don’t have to be a woman, a Buddhist, or an iconography expert to relate to dakini energy.”

A true multidisciplinary artist, Martello is also known for ornate ceramic pieces and public installations. In 2016–2017, she was selected to produce three large-scale murals in New Jersey’s Asbury Park for the Wooden Walls Public Art Project, a program aimed at bringing sociocultural and socioeconomic enrichment to local public spaces. Martello’s murals included Colorful Supremacy, depicting women’s faces overlaid on a black-and-white American flag. Intended to be interactive, the piece is accompanied by colorful markers, with viewers encouraged to fill in blank space with words of their choosing. Dakini Disobey, another mural from this project, is a portrait of a woman with the word “dakini” written on her torso and “disobey” off to her sides. In a time of political turmoil and the beginnings of the #MeToo movement, Martello’s murals packed a timely punch for the growing public voice in support of gender equality.

Some of Martello’s works explore the questions about womanhood that have risen to the surface in her own life. Her series of ceramic dolls—several of which were featured in a 2019 solo show entitled “Consequential Stranger”—includes Eva, a sculpture of a woman with the phrase “I am not sure if I want to have children in this life” inscribed on the front of her gown. “Investigating the mind is always risky, yet Eva is celebrating doubts,” Martello explained to Tricycle. Martello’s Buddhist practice helps her skillfully depict the contradictions of conviction and doubt, bliss and wrath, and confidence and insecurity. “When I’m making art, I can look honestly at myself, confront the shadows and insecurities, and eventually integrate their opposites into my life and work,” she said. These musings, combined with the emotional scope of her portfolio, suggest that true self-empowerment comes from the ability to rest in the space somewhere in between these binaries.

This year, a selection of Martello’s works were exhibited in the group shows “Free, Fearless, Fantastical” at Pen & Brush in New York City, “Arte Fiera” at Galleria Giovanni Bonelli in Italy, “Investec Cape Town” at Galleria Giovanni Bonelli in South Africa, and “Zona Maco” at The Camp Gallery in Mexico City. Since the closure of these shows, she has been traveling in Nepal and finding fresh inspiration for works on the horizon.