Untitled 1971

Zdzislaw Beksinski painted this unsettling, untitled landscape in dark browns and grays, probably in his studio in Poland. The painting seems to have come into being from many dark layers. I imagine Beksinski applying thin washes, building up this somber landscape from repeated marks. What could he have been thinking about? What feelings or memories did he access as he built up the painting’s surface? The painting evokes a desolate post-apocalyptic wasteland. I’m struck by the small skulls and bones in the foreground. Each one is so carefully, methodically placed, creating a texture that is both repulsive and mesmerizing. It makes me think of Goya, who also explored the darker side of the human condition in his paintings. This art isn’t necessarily ‘beautiful’, but it is powerful, showing us a vision of what could be while being so evocative of the past. Artists are always in conversation, responding to one another across generations. Beksinski’s work embraces ambiguity, inviting multiple interpretations of a complex world.