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InspirationIllustration

Illustrator Martina Paukova brings naked feet, flowers and naps to Hamburg

Martina Paukova is a Slovak illustrator whose trademark vectors span topics like home, office, indoors, working life, technology and relationships, attracting clients such as Google, Apple, The Economist and The New Yorker.

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Three women sitting poolside in summer dresses, holding yellow drinks with a fire hydrant visible beside them against a turquoise tiled background

Currently based in Berlin, she's represented by Agent Pekka in Helsinki and Making Pictures in London. We got to know Martina in a recent interview and so we were delighted to see her first show in Germany opening this month.

And what a show it is. Stepping away from her usual indoors domestika, laden with iPads, iPhones or laptops, her pieces celebrate naked feet, relationships, flowers, naps, linen and everything tactile that lies in between.

Friendships and group activities are prioritised, time alone is spent mostly to recharge. The illustrated characters are caught off-guard and are socially and carnally hungry. Playful, unsupervised and touchy, they lounge, they gawk, they provoke: the post-pandemic tactility has arrived. Stresses and the heartbreaks of the past 14 months are covered with a layer of sweaty play. The heat is on.

"I'd describe my style as flat, awkward and geometric. And with loads of colours," Paukova tells Creative Boom. "I've been drawn to depicting very daily, mundane scenes with a little story locked within since the very beginning. You would see this character or a bunch of them, going about their day, being glued to the computer or the phone and in constant awe of the world around them. It's me in a nutshell, multiplied."

The exhibition is at Enfants Artspace, Pilatuspool 19, 20355 Hamburg until 30 July. To find out more about Martina Paukova, visit martinapaukova.com.

A figure in a bright pink jacket and yellow trousers holds a vibrant bouquet of yellow spiral flowers, blue hand-shaped leaves and peachy blossoms against a light blue background
Two stylised figures sitting together, one wearing a blue top and yellow skirt, the other in a yellow dress, with bare feet and geometric shapes in muted tones on a beige background
Colourful illustration of three stylised figures huddled together with their heads close, wearing yellow, blue and orange clothing against a beige background
Illustration of children and adults relaxing in and around turquoise paddling pools on a beach, wearing swimwear and holding beach toys
Woman with blonde hair holding tangled turquoise pipes while sitting on a tiled floor
Two illustrated figures with pale skin and white/grey hair embrace whilst holding a blue decorative object, wearing colourful clothing in shades of pink, yellow, turquoise and blue against a beige background
A person with bare feet rests in a blue armchair surrounded by colourful heart and flower shapes in pink, yellow and orange against a beige background
Illustrated figure with yellow hair and blue clothing sitting barefoot among a garden of colourful flowers in various shapes and colours
Woman viewing Martina Paukova's colourful illustration works on a white gallery wall, featuring geometric figures and turquoise backgrounds
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