6th Floor 2020

Curator: This piece, "6th Floor," created by Iwo Zaniewski in 2020, offers an intriguing snapshot of urban life through the lens of, seemingly, an artist's studio. Mixed media, including watercolor, are used here. What’s your immediate reaction to it? Editor: My gut reaction? It feels cold but cozy at the same time, like watching the world go by from a warm blanket fort. The sheer volume of figures outside, against the intimacy of the workspace, creates this immediate contrast. Curator: The interesting thing to consider, of course, is how Zaniewski frames artistic production itself. The interior is very clearly a workspace and seems as 'valid' as the outdoor landscape that’s depicted, as both hold value in what the audience observes in equal measure. The material processes—the brushes, paints—are on full display. Editor: Absolutely. I almost feel like I know that person at the desk! I’m getting a real sense of isolation amidst the bustling city outside. Almost voyeuristic. I’m now questioning, who are those silhouetted figures anyway? Just people? Or aspects of his creativity or perhaps a part of him reflected on that 6th floor, observing a life or reality? Curator: That is precisely what the artist wants you to inquire on, with Zaniewski intentionally using mixed media to enhance this observation and narrative of artistic construction, by juxtaposing an interior to its outdoor exterior in a specific way. Notice also the contrast and tones used with color indoors against what's observed outside. The muted tones that appear at ground level also invite a material reading to what you would deem typically outside, 'street art', but how the image also makes 'high art' or formal, and in this piece the outdoors isn't always considered external, but intimate as well. Editor: You’re right; the layering is incredibly effective. I feel invited to question my assumptions of privacy, visibility, where ideas generate, and where creative work takes form, it’s fascinating and I appreciate what is offered on that so-called '6th Floor'. Curator: Considering the layers and forms in use here in a variety of processes and ways really challenges the typical boundaries often created when seeing what is viewed 'inside' and 'outside'. Editor: It leaves you thinking, doesn't it? Zaniewski provides more than just a snapshot of a place, but opens a space of thought, reflection on the nature of seeing the work behind creativity and art in process.