Laznia Centre for Contemporary Art

The most adequate word for describing Katarzyna Józefowicz’s work is probably “quiet”. The artist’s installations emanate (dis)quiet. The repetitiveness and banality of the elements leads us to perceive them as something familiar. Calm/disquiet – this emotional dissonance accompanies us as we examine the artist’s work.

Katarzyna Józefowicz calls herself a slave to building. This comes as no surprise once we take a closer look at her artwork. Small clippings of paper are transformed into complex constructions of multiple elements, vibrant structures interacting with the space surrounding them. In her installations, Józefowicz uses paper, an exceptionally brittle and precarious material susceptible to damage and changing with the passage of time. This art requires countless hours of laborious toil. On the one hand, the creative process is associated with stereotypically feminine tasks, while on the other hand with the creation of mandala. Her artwork revolves around universal themes: emotions, disappearance, relations with our surroundings.

Katarzyna Józefowicz’s creative work is done privately, between the lines, quietly developing as does human existence. Creation has become an integral part of the everyday. “My comments on reality are my routine” – these words from over a decade ago ring true today. “I work at home. I don’t pretend to call that place a studio. It’s HOME. I can stop working whenever I choose, and I can resume it whenever I like. I blend my work into the rhythm of my family and obligations. My objective is to keep the elements of my everyday from coming into conflict with one another. So they complement each other in harmony,” the artist says.

It is difficult to write about her artwork. Words seem to neuter their essence, and it is easy to lapse into banalities. Józefowicz weaves newspapers cut into ribbons, individual words, and images into spider webs, rugs, tablecloths. She invites viewers into a private universe where she shares her own emotions.

The title of the Gdańsk exhibit refers to the artist’s creative output, but at the same time describes an installation that will be presented during the exhibit. The central theme will be chance, a play on words, a fleeting thought, difficult to grasp as it pops up in the mind someplace between lines of text.

The exhibit is being organized as part of the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the LAZNIA Centre for Contemporary Art.

BIP

Municipal Institution of Culture