Ironing 2021

Curator: Welcome. The piece before you is "Ironing," a 2021 work on paper by Iwo Zaniewski. It combines pastel, pencil, drawing and watercolor techniques in a fascinating, intimate interior scene. Editor: My initial reaction is that it feels soft, almost dreamlike. The textures, achieved with what looks like layering of pastel and pencil, give it an incredibly tactile quality. Curator: The composition adheres to a relatively traditional framework. The artist employs a checkerboard pattern of squares that grounds our view into the domestic interior, drawing the eye across to the woman positioned beside the window. Do you get a sense of realism at play? Editor: Yes, but with a definite stylization. The visible textures are key. Look at the materials of everyday life - the fabrics, the ceramics, the foliage on the wall; there's a lot of meticulous labour invested to draw the viewers' attention towards Zaniewski's distinct technique. The checkered surfaces give an oddly satisfying structure and coherence. Curator: Agreed. The visual language balances what we might expect from representational art with something more stylized. Note the chromatic relationships. Zaniewski limits the colors in play to make his protagonist really pop through that soft palette. It establishes an uncanny pictorial logic and a mood I think is distinct. Editor: The colours are subtle enough that they lend themselves beautifully to the mundane of a daily ironing task; in viewing such a quiet moment in its painterly representation, Zaniewski grants that domestic scene a dignified grace. Curator: Zaniewski's approach really urges us to reconsider how form, colour, and subject can intersect, creating an unusual experience of seeing an utterly ordinary moment rendered with such intricate design. Editor: Exactly. It's that tension between realism and tactile presence that captivates. Thanks for that careful unpacking of the piece.