EXHIBITION: Nightmares of Ten
22/09 – 5/11/2023
Koszmary Dziesiątki is a group exhibition of young paintings, the project of which was on the short list of winners of the Gallery a Common Place competition! | MICROGRANTS . Among many interesting multimedia proposals, the idea of presenting images met with an enthusiastic response from most of the jurors.
In the application form, the young artists wrote that: “(…) the main idea is to observe everyday problems, reflect on the relationship with the reality around us and the difficulty of living amidst the chaos of the modern world. The exhibition aims to show the similarity of our perceptions, showing both individual experiences and social contexts. Ten’s Nightmares – refer to catastrophic themes (…) Inspired by the modern world, we ask ourselves – what is its nature and are we able to oppose it? It is worth emphasizing that it is rare for expressive artistic attitudes in a multicultural group to harmonize and complement each other so well.
Ada Jurczak-Łowkis and Diuna Ostrowski had the hardship but also the honor of representing “Ten”. Both artists do it with enthusiasm, full of faith in the talent of their colleagues. They also emphasize the friendly relations existing in the group, which met during the international artistic residency in Pieńków, financed by the Marek Maria Pieńkowski Foundation. It was there that young artists had the opportunity to find out that they had many things in common in terms of perceiving the world, noticing threats, taming their fears, and as a result of discovering common points, the idea of a group exhibition emerged.
Ada Łowkis analyzes water disasters, referring to the language of cartography. It refers to the theme of war and the tragic repetition of events in contemporary history in a very original way. Ana Vostruchovaite from Lithuania raises issues of relationships with nature and the environment using intriguing digital aesthetics. Static and seemingly calm landscapes and still lifes are, however, tinged with anxiety, evoking apocalyptic associations. Australian Blake Malone also creates in a digital aesthetic, inspired by images taken from a political documentary series. What is striking in his works is a conscious and precise composition that makes the canvases seem to hypnotize the viewer. Diuna Ostrowski also achieves a hypnotic effect, painting boldly, using extreme contrasts and glowing colors that stand out clearly from the dark background. Her paintings are filled with existential fear, provoking questions about the danger lurking in them… Emil Bucki , using intense colors and expressive symbols with a dramatic meaning, talks about the disintegration of post-communist societies that particularly interests him. The artist sees the main threat in totalitarianism. Kamila Kamińska dresses her paintings in linen clothes, experiments, plays with textures, talks about the human body and skin. Linen can be associated with both clothes and shrouds, and her unusual works arouse anxiety. Martyna Czechhe uses color in a bold way, building the image field in an unconventional way. It raises existential, often difficult and painful topics, such as the suffering inflicted by humans on animals. Natalia Borczi works spontaneously, guided by intuition and reacting to the current moment. Her disturbing, attention-grabbing paintings are, in a sense, ad hoc stories about the surrounding world, which is full of terrifying phenomena. In his interesting, dark painting, Piotr Mlącki focuses on history, social problems, innocent victims of progress and the industrial revolution. He creates dark, figurative compositions with tiny flashes of light. Sasha Bashinskydeals with the renovation of devastated religious buildings, which is reflected in his very original paintings. He uses mainly dark colors, which are appropriate to the stories being told and allow for more visible glimpses of light.
An exhibition was created, the recipients of which have the opportunity to expand the circle of a kind of artistic “support group” created in difficult times. Viewers, bringing their sensitivity and facing their own nightmares, can, together with the titular “Ten”, wonder whether a catastrophe can still be avoided…
Bogna Błażewicz
participants: Sasha Bashinsky, Natalia Borczi, Emil Bucki, Martyna Czech, Ada Jurczak-Łowkis, Kamila Kamińska, Blake Malone, Piotr Mlącki, Diuna Ostrowski, Ana Vostruchovaite