Biography

Marti Gutfreund was born in Alberta, Canada, and spent much her younger life exploring, and eagerly learning about the critters hiding in the boreal forest bordering her childhood home. This upbringing fostered a deep fascination with nature that has lasted into adulthood. 

Gutfreund graduated from the University of Alberta in 2017, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree. After graduating, Gutfreund explored photography for a short while, but primarily continued growing the online rock and mineral shop she had started during university. At this point, making art had fallen out of Gutfreund's life, and remained that way for 7 long years. Slowly but surely, the desire to start creating again began creeping in until it could no longer be ignored. Life's path is never a straight line after all.

It can be difficult to find personal escape from the often monotonous and depressing rituals of the everyday, and Gutfreund regularly finds herself seeking comfort in daydreams or imagining alternate realities preferable to her own. This is where the nutty creatures, ethereal humanoids, and imaginary worlds come in; the formulation of an escapist place that is reminiscent of the wild and boundless creations of childhood fantasies. A place that is inviting, enticing, and occasionally a little disturbing. Although these adventure filled worlds are generally friendly in nature, touches of uncomfortable strangeness are peppered throughout Gutfreund's work to remind us that the psyche is rarely capable of attaining utopia. Viewers are met with loveable extraterrestrial characters that bear a certain resemblance to forms and textures found here on earth, evoking a sense of familiarity within an unfamiliar environment. Gutfreund's interests are rooted within her childhood and adolescent experiences of growing up in close proximity to the Edmonton River Valley, and an essence of this connection is always present in her work. Gutfreund looks at nature as her main visual source when constructing the flora and fauna of an alternate universe. Narratives between the characters within her works are often visible, and tend to stretch on throughout a series of several pieces and mediums.

Formally, Gutfreund adds as many details and textures as possible so that viewers can get lost in the intricacies of the pieces. Glitter, resin, gemstones, glass, metallic pigments, and other unconventional materials find their way into her work, cohesively adding to the visual complexity of the imagery.