War 2014

This painting by Małgorzata Serwatka is a real trip. Look at the muted palette, dominated by grays, browns, and reds. I can just imagine Serwatka building up these layers, maybe even scraping some away. The surface feels worked, like she's wrestling with the image. I'm getting the sense that the painting might be a comment on power, conflict, and human suffering. The figures are huddled together, and the text in the background feels ominous, like some kind of propaganda. It makes me think about those early history paintings, all the drama and struggle, but with a contemporary spin. See that single red brushstroke slashing across the image? It's like a wound, or maybe a warning sign. It's that kind of gesture that really gets to me— raw, immediate, and full of feeling. We are all always experimenting and borrowing from each other, right?