Mental Geography features a series of abstract paintings by Beata Kozlowska. With an affinity for a sense of transience, Kozlowska works with colours, shapes and lines, often employing haphazard grids, an overload of forms, and handmade stencils. Her use of grids and geometry is inspired by a range of disparate aesthetics, including modernist abstraction, architecture, constructivism and post-painterly tradition.
Kozlowska explores the process of finding harmony amidst contradictions, as she plays with opposing elements, such as chaos and structure, destruction and reconstruction. The resulting works become a reflection of the artist’s pursuit for balance within the composition.
Join us for the opening night of Beata Kozlowska’s solo exhibition in Te Whanganui-a-Tara on Thursday the 5th September 5.30pm.There will be refreshments provided.
Q1: Can you walk us through your artistic process and why you prioritize the journey over the destination?
A1: Creating art, for me, is like embarking on a journey without a fixed destination. It involves a fluid process where I lay down the initial structures like a roadmap, but I don’t have an idea of the destination. However, the beauty lies not just in reaching the endpoint but in the nuanced steps, the layers that accumulate, and the constant evolution that occurs along the way. It’s an exploration of the unknown, and it’s exciting to navigate to uncharted territories.
Q2: The tension between geometric structures and organic elements is striking in your work. Can you share more about the ideas or philosophies that inspired this unique blend?
A2: I find inspiration in the coexistence of order and chaos, much like the everyday world we inhabit, or our daily fight between passion and rational. It’s not about choosing one over the other; rather, it’s a reflection of life’s intricate dance. Consider it as blending the predictability and stability of geometry with the unpredictability of organic forms—like composing a melody where each note, whether planned or spontaneous, contributes to the harmony of the whole.
Q3: Your exhibition is titled “Poetics of Geometry.” What’s the story behind this title, and how does it encapsulate the essence of your artistic vision?
A3: “Poetics of Geometry” is a deliberate choice. It’s about finding the, how I would describe it better, a lyrical beauty in the structured forms, a narrative that is “woven” through lines and shapes. Geometry, typically associated with precision, takes on a poetic, imprecise quality in my work. And this is because each piece tells a story, a poem composed with angles and curves, layer after layer, reflecting a vibrant elegance found in the language of shapes.
Q4: Time appears to be a significant element in your art. Could you expand on the role of time and how it contributes to the narratives in your pieces?
A4: In the realm of “Poetics of Geometry,” time plays a crucial role in shaping narratives. Some of these paintings have been evolving through years, changing shape, pretty much as we do. So this exhibition is basically a series of moments frozen in time, where the layers of each piece has found a momentary balance. But It’s not about racing against time; rather, it’s about allowing the works to unfold at their own pace. Time becomes like a brushstroke, adding depth and meaning to the visual poetry expressed in the geometry of my art.
Poetics of Geometry, a solo exhibition features new abstract paintings by Beata Kozlowska. Over the last several years Wellington-based artistic journey, Kozlowska delves into the painterly medium, focusing on the language of abstraction. Poetics of Geometry ‘explores unique visual associations from geometric shapes, analogous to the play of language in poetics. Kozlowska employs elements like colour, shape, texture, form and structure to manifest in varying scales and frequencies, mirroring nature.
The term “Geometry” originates from the Greek words ‘geo’ (earth) and ‘metrein’ (to measure). Kozlowska’s work explores the interplay between poetics and geometry, employing geometric shapes, lines, haphazard semi-grids, and multiple layering techniques. Embracing negative space and concealing specific areas in her compositions, she engages in an unpredictable and playful process that challenges traditional geometric laws. This emphasis on the freedom of abstraction invites viewers to explore multiple interpretations.
The artist improvises with contrasting elements, exploring the tension between structure and chaos, reflecting the uncertainties of the world. The manipulation of forms and improvisation defines Kozlowska’s artistic process, driven by the quest for internal balance within the composition.
Beata Kozlowska in front of ‘ Walls out of Solid Air’ acrylic on canvas, 90×60 cm, 2023.
“Weaving Light and Space”
Multidisciplinary Art exhibition by Beata Kozlowska and David Moraton
Thistle Hall Gallery, Wellington 5th -11th December 2016
PV: Mon 6-9 pm
“Weaving Light and Space” is a first New Zealand based collaborative art exhibition by two visual artists with artistic careers in the UK: Beata Kozlowska and David Moraton.
The exhibition showcases their recent art works made in Wellington. Lines, strings and light are recurrent elements and main motifs of both artists’ installations, paintings, drawings and videos. Wherever placed three-dimensionally or represented on a bi-dimensional surface, these lines connect each other in weaving structures, mapping the space that they live in, creating complex organic forms and casting lights and shadows. Both artists find commonality in using lines and light to evoke the transcendental through abstract images, which constitute an integral part of their visual languages.
Theatre of colour and movement, is a collaborative project made in Toi Poneke Art Centre betweeen David Moraton and I. We are two artists who collaborate and join commonalities in our practices. Our collaboration revolves around the concept of interdependence as we are showing how two artists can fully blend and interrelate to create a combined artwork.
Hidden Stories, art project in Toi Poneke, Wellington NZ is a project exploring the idea of connectivity and freedom of associations. Being on the other site of the Hemisphere, made me inspired to develop further experimentation with line and integrating cut-outs painted drawing. Cut-outs are essential element of the installation and they have no fixed place on the imaginary map of the inhabited space of the studio . The geography of the mind, in a way referring back to my early series of work Mental Geography ( London, Studio Voltaire), is an attempt to disperse any possible compositional frame and open a performing space, where the presence come about.
I am delighted to announce that I was selected to participate as a solo panel Artist during the NZ Art Show, one of the largest, Affordable Art Fairs in New Zealand.
I will be showing my newest series of work on paper and also some of my previous work made in London.
I am hoping to meet some interesting people and art lovers here on the new land, in Wellington, one of the most exciting artistically capital in this part of the world.
DATES:
PREVIEW – Thursday June 2, 12.30pm – 2pm
Exclusive access to the show for Friends of the 2015 NZ Art Show: browse the art and make your purchases at your leisure.
