Waiting Room 2006

Małgorzata Serwatka made this painting called "Waiting Room," and who knows when. The picture plane is like an arena, and the way she’s built up the surface, it’s like she’s saying everything is up for grabs. I can imagine her thinking: how do I make a painting that is a world, my world? There are all kinds of images here, a cat with stripes, a red and green room, and some kind of monster maybe, a cascade of creatures, and all these little color swatches stuck on. It looks like it's all held together by intuitive feeling, you know? Like one thing leads to another. For me, this kind of painting is like the painter is thinking out loud, they’re creating an adventure for themselves and daring us to come along for the ride. It reminds me of work by artists like Francis Picabia, who was always experimenting with different styles and ideas. Painting is an alive medium, it lives, breathes, and changes.