Szewski baldachim 2022

Curator: Lech Jankowski’s mixed media work from 2022, entitled "Szewski baldachim," immediately gives me a feeling of enclosure. Editor: Enclosure, yes, but also possibility. I see those dark bird shapes, almost like primitive ideograms, pushing upward and outward, seeking liberation. Curator: Interesting you interpret them that way. I'm seeing a geometric structure dominating the scene. Almost like the interior of a box, but with layered watercolors and impasto adding depth and texture to the surfaces. Do you find the structure confining? Editor: Perhaps. It’s more about what that box represents. Homes have long been symbolically linked to both security and entrapment, especially for women. And look at the little building within. One illuminated window while tiny black birds seemingly exiting below. It has a fairytale darkness to it, no? Curator: Absolutely. And the perspective—or lack thereof—contributes to that unease. There’s a deliberate flattening, creating an almost dreamlike space where perspective conventions break down. It's like an architectural rendering viewed through the haze of memory. Editor: This interplay is interesting, juxtaposing a seemingly secure architectural rendering with something less structured, even a kind of wilderness, and a flock. It disrupts the security, offering some tension. What do you think about that the checkerboard that outlines the picture? Curator: That border serves as another kind of boundary and protection around what might be understood as personal space, where geometric shapes, the birds and what seem like little figures, combine in what feels like an almost totemic manner. I'm left pondering if there's a hidden narrative. Editor: And Jankowski allows us to bring our own narratives. The beauty of an image lies in its evocative ambiguity. "Szewski baldachim" doesn’t tell us what to feel, it provides us with a landscape of symbols that ignite our own associations. Curator: It definitely prompts a personal encounter. These abstracted landscapes often function as containers for individual experiences. Editor: Ultimately, it's an intimate view. As an artifact "Szewski baldachim," as the museum chooses to show, allows viewers to ponder shelter and freedom within the walls of cultural memory.