White Spots Exist Until We Notice Them

„In the exhibition ‘I’m the One Painting This!’, the works and approaches of artists associated with the Wrocław Group – Hanna Krzetuska, Wanda Gołkowska and Krzesława Maliszewska – have been interpreted by younger, contemporary artists living and working in Wrocław: Justyna Baśnik, Karolina Szymanowska, Karina Marusińska, Agnieszka Sejud and Anna Kołodziejczyk.”
Michal Bieniek

My creation relates to Wanda Gołkowska’s works on many levels. The moment of this artist’s engagement with conceptual art – the beginning of which can be seen in the concept of the open system – marks a shift in her approach to the material and form of painting. In her works from the 1950s and 1960s, the geometric forms that appear are irregular and organic in nature. In contrast, those created from the 1970s onwards are characterised by straight lines and mathematical discipline, deviating from formal rigour only in certain details. In my work, I sought out the tensions between the geometric and the organic. I moulded regular rollers from plasticine, which became deformed as a result of drying and firing in the kiln. This is also a dialogue with Golkowska’s later works, in which the lines seem to slip out of control.

I also draw on the series of works entitled ‘Earth’. I have replaced the common element sought by Gołkowska in the realms of language and social relations with the matter that binds us all together. I have used the shape of a circle, within which I have placed ceramic rollers. I have drawn on planetary iconography, as well as on Golkowska’s later works, in which circles are subjected to geometric analysis.

Above all, however, I am addressing the phenomenon of the marginalisation of female artists. ‘White spots’ are the unspoken and unexplained events of history. White spots exist as long as we do not see them. From a herstory perspective, restoring the memory and visibility of female artists is vital work, focused also on the future of art and the assertion of the rights of those marginalised so far. If my work were to be viewed as a text (‘a letter written over a lifetime’*), the gaps within it are not spaces between words. They symbolise the absence of words, names, and even entire phrases describing essential elements of history. Looking at these gaps, we see the ground. For me, herstories are a gaze into the depths of the earth.

*The phrase refers to the title of the author’s publication: ‘A Letter Written Over a Lifetime – The Open System of Wanda Gołkowska’, ed. Jolanta Studzińska