Spring Ironing 2021

Iwo Zaniewski’s “Spring Ironing” is made with what looks like pastel, maybe chalk, on paper, and it captures a moment of domestic life. It’s not trying to trick you into thinking it's real, but it’s making you feel something real. I love how the marks are so present, almost like the air in the room made visible. The colors are muted, like a memory, but there’s a kind of vibrancy too, especially in the window, and the blossom on the sill. Look at the way the window frame divides the space, the outside pushing against the inside, the softness of the garden seen through the hard geometry of the glass. It’s all these contrasts that give the piece it’s tension, it’s feeling. Thinking of other artists, I'm reminded of Pierre Bonnard and his intimate, immersive domestic interiors. Like Bonnard, Zaniewski finds beauty in the everyday, elevates the mundane. It's a reminder that art doesn't always have to shout; sometimes, it whispers.