Magdalena Ortolani (Córdoba, Argentina, 2003) is a visual artist based in Byron Bay, Australia. Her practice centres primarily around abstract and experimental painting, exploring the relationship between emotion, materiality and experience.
Her background and interest in Architecture have influenced the way she observes space, structure and materiality. At the same time, she finds in art a space to move away from imposed structures and delve deeper into intuition, gesture and expression. Largely self-taught, she works with natural and organic materials such as coffee, earth, stone and pigments, combining them with oil and other mediums to create surfaces rich in texture and presence.
Her process begins with spontaneity and the accumulation of layers, allowing intention and accident to coexist within each work. Through materiality, Ortolani explores inner states connected to memory, presence, tension and silence.
Travel, landscapes and the relationship between the physical world and inner experience are recurring elements within a practice that continues to evolve. For Ortolani, imperfection is not a flaw, but a form of honesty—a trace of time, movement and that which cannot be completely named.
Byron Shire
Ballina Shire
