Agata Biżek is a young, 25-year-old artist from Janów Lubelski, whose adventure with panting started at a very young age.
Her initial artistic fascinations revolved around sculpture but over the years, she has found herself increasingly drawn towards painting. It is almost hard to believe that she has been working in oil technique, indeed painting as such, for only a year. The maturity of the young painter’s works is surprising, captivating, and truly impressive should one consider the short span of time in which she was able to develop her own style and achieve such stunning effects. Possibly, the influence of Agata Biżek’s first and foremost teacher, her father – a renowned sculptor himself, may have something to do with the artist’s exceptional progress?
The cycle of works by Agata Biżek submitted for our review is entitled “Soul Thorns” and, in the words of the artist herself, it is a reflection on certain painful situations that the painter has, despite her young age, either experienced or been faced with in her own life. On the surface, Agata Biżek’s paintings are deceptively cheerful, warm, even delicate. When entering the Gallery, one is greeted with a collection of seemingly heart-warming, almost trivial images – the effect is achieved through the use of toned-down, pleasant colour patterns. However, upon closer inspection and after reading the painting’s titles (always given in the bottom right corner alongside the signature) one is forced to quickly revaluate that assumption.
The featured works include, e.g.: “Faces of a Man on Both Sides”, “Crucified Christ”, “The Angel of Anguish”, which all revolve around biblical and spiritual themes.
Next we are faced with “Disappointment”, a generic scene depicting two figures, a visibly anxious woman and a man surrounded by a collection of bottles filled with, presumably, alcohol. The entire scene is set in an ascetic, ochre-coloured room with a window in the dominant, central position – possibly the only available way to escape the tragedy of the situation.
Another painting – “No Return” – does not leave us with event such a slight chance for positive resolution. The scene depicts a mature woman – mother, next to whom, positioned symmetrically, we see: a portrait of her daughter on the left and on the right a clock symbolising irreversibly fleeting time, the night almost past, only a quarter of an hour separating us from a pivotal event in the life of either the author of one of her loved ones. The image is dominated by shades of yellow.
Another interesting and certainly noteworthy painting is a dramatic depiction of “A Dog on its Master’s Grave”. The depicted animal is painted skilfully and realistically - lying on a white, marble tombstone of its recently deceased owner, as evidenced by the candle still burning in the right. The image is very suggestive, poignant and haunting.
The next painting – “Stolen Freedom” – is of a fairytalelike lion whose head and paws are pressed against the bars of a cage, its eyes longingly pointed to the side in a clear, desperate desire for freedom. Another intriguing work is entitled “Woman with a Mirror” and depicts a rather unattractive, semi-nude woman sitting in a green chair inside a small, claustrophobic room. She seems to be trapped or imprisoned there as shown by the red bricks with thick, black cement, lain in a way clearly evidencing complete unfamiliarity with the principles of perspective, which only adds to the expressive power of the image and that ugly, saggy-breasted figure looking at herself in a small mirror held in her right hand while the left reaches up to her eye, possibly to wipe off a tear.
The other two works included in the exhibition: “Blindfolded Walk” and “Desire for Pain” once again depict familiar life problems, generic scenes that weigh heavily on the viewer’s soul. They are images of people incapable of dealing with their own, destructive weaknesses.
Does the author identify herself with the pain, the imperfection and injustice that define the worlds of humans, animals and angels alike? Is she truly aware of all those associations? She begins with the sacred (Crucified Christ) and from there proceeds to take on the more mundane suffering experienced not only by herself but indeed the world as a whole.
The works are a testament to Agata Bużek’s artistic awareness, sensitivity and maturity.
In fact, the minor flaws in her technique such as problems with perspective or failure to take advantage of the full depth of colours, a certain repetitiveness of her forms, are somehow not at all discouraging. Indeed, it could be said that they facilitate the expressive strength more than perfect composition ever could, which legitimises some of the minor technical errors. Agata Bużek’s works are thought-provoking and require the viewer’s engaged attention. They are an original new take on the theme of human and inhuman suffering. While flirting with untypical colour palettes, she ventures to broadly discuss the toil, pain, lament and despair of the human condition.
An medium-sized painting, 70 by 100 cm, in portrait orientation, in oil. It depicts a centrally positioned elderly woman. She is wearing a grey dress, blue apron and slippers. Her hair is greying. Her head is rested on her hand. On the left-hand side, apparently on a wall, hangs a picture of the woman when she was still young. On the right hand side stands an old clock, the hour is a quarter to twelve. The entire scene is bathed in yellow sunlight. Overall, the image is very minimalistic.
A medium-sized painting, 70 by 100 cm, in landscape orientation, in oil. It depicts the interior of an ascetic apartment where the only visible pieces of furniture are a centrally positioned table and a chair on the left-hand side of the image. There is a single, large window in the centre of the crammed room. There are two people present: a man sitting down behind the table and a standing, gesticulating woman on the right. The man is holding a full glass in his hand, two filled bottles stand on and next to the table. The colour pattern of the image is predominantly ochre, yellow and brown. The man is wearing blue trousers, a brown shirt and dark green cardigan. The woman’s skirt is dark green, her blouse and long hair black. The room is depicted in perspective. The painting is executed with considerable skill.
