Solo Exhibition
artinfo.pl
Warsaw, Poland
17 November to 2 December 2022
PL ENG
The key to understanding the work of the painter and actress Julia Medyńska are two words: Spectacle and Macabre. It is a real clash of contradictions and paradoxes. Horror and darkness intertwine with beauty and humor. The artist never really left acting; she still plays in front of the viewer, but now she does it indirectly, through her art. She introduces theatrical poses, gestures and costumes.
The artist draws inspiration from the art of the old masters: the golden age of the Netherlands (including Rembrandt and Rubens), rococo, baroque, and even gothic literature at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries [see paintings "Lets hear them Croak" and "Lucky Widow"]. However, Medyńska's works always have a modern twist that is characteristic of her. She builds the mood of the scenes with gestures, light, colors, or sweeping brushstrokes. Decorative, lush compositions are created under the influence of emotions - she does not create preparatory sketches for her works.
The artist admits that she is often surprised herself where the "history" of the created image has led her. Each work must be ambiguous in its own way, have a kind of fun with the viewer, just like in a real theater. It is a black comedy. Nothing is quite what it seems.
The painter's paintings are extremely intriguing and draw the viewer in. They evoke anxiety, which is created by a dark palette of colors, mysterious masks, understatements. The artist willingly uses vanitas motifs. She juxtaposes seemingly idyllic scenes, only to clash them with the motif of death. This is perfectly illustrated by the work "At the End of the World", showing titmouse birds against the background of a landscape with the setting sun. A seemingly innocent show. However, after a while we notice that the bird in flight is really just feathers - as if it had just been shot down. The tone of the image changes dramatically. However, the artist herself convinces - it cannot be taken seriously, literally.
Each work hides a secret - and the title is the key to its decipherment. An example is the painting "Metamorphosis", which at first glance shows a young woman. However, upon closer examination, we notice that the matter is not as clear as it seems. We are left with the question: in which direction does the metamorphosis of the character take place?
As Medyńska claims, showing her playful side, in each work she wonders whether the hero will have a "happy ending" or not... We do not know if there is a goldfish in a plastic bag in "The Goldfish" and mice rummaging through flowers in “Mouse Game”. How will the fate of the actress in the work "The Final Act" unfold, waving goodbye to the viewers with a handkerchief stained with blood, or the widow in the painting "Lucky Widow" ... The viewer must answer these questions for themselves.
The artist constantly reminds us that nothing is trivially simple, nice and pleasant. The world around us surprises us, we need to have a distance to life and death. Bearing in mind the title of the exhibition - "Games People Play" - one should realize that in the end it is only - in the words of Julia Medyńska - a Spectacle. Theater. A Costume party.
Julia Medyńska - painter and actress, born in 1981 in Gdańsk. She grew up in West Berlin, where her family fled in 1985. She was educated in New York, completing her acting studies at the Lee Strasberg Theater and The Neighborhood Playhouse, and her master's degree in visual arts at Columbia University. She has performed at OFF-Broadway and the Manhattan Ensemble Theatre. She lived in Berlin, New York and London. She currently resides with her family in Poland. She has participated in numerous solo exhibitions throughout Europe.
Curators: Aleksandra Herbich, Patrycja Żak-Tomanek