Using intaglio printmaking processes, Matina Marki Tillman creates etchings of her drawings to convey the human psychological and physical response and portray the mood and state of mind. Her work is intrinsically related to uncovering the human condition, and in her words, expresses “the inner rhythm that holds together the chaotic elements that make up the human.”
Born and raised in Greece, her curiosity in human consciousness stemmed from her university studies in Greek Medieval and Modern Literature and Poetry. When she relocated to the United States, she explored other facets of visual arts including figure drawing, computer animation, and illustration which eventually led her to printmaking. Literature, cinema and the performing arts are her constant inspirations.
Marki Tillman’s work has been selected for various exhibitions including a solo exhibition in 2015 titled Humanography at the Washington Printmakers Gallery in Washington, D.C. Other group exhibitions include The Art of the Story: Expanding the Narrative at Grand Central Public Library in New York, in 2018, Atlanta Print Biennial at the Kai Lin Gallery in Atlanta, GA juried by Sydney Cross, Clemson University Distinguished Alumni Professor of Art, Clemson, SC, and others. She also has received a handful of awards such as First Place Prize for the National Association of Women Artists (NAWA) National Small Works Exhibition at the NAWA Gallery in New York in 2017.
Her piece, Density, a Solarplate etching from aquarelle pencil drawing on vellum, draws on the exploration of “density in human life by focusing on the condensed essence of absence within a crowded daily scenery.” Eventually, this piece turned into a two month project where she incorporated over 100 figures from her studies and sketches to create a full spectrum of human life.
Another piece, Poisoned Tree, portrays a sole human figure who appears as an invasive growth on a tormented tree in a disturbed landscape. Matina used a “combination of her drawings and digital collages to create the etching matrix, emanating one of her recurring thoughts during this disquieting period.”
