Marcin Janusz
Mother of Pearl - @ Warsaw Old Town
Mother of Pearl - @ Warsaw Old Town
BIO
A painter and creator of objects merging painting and sculpture, he graduated with a BA degree from the CM Medical Emergency Department of the Jagiellonian University and the Painting Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. His work is inspired by nature and biology. Its main motif is human beings, their physiology and symbiotic ties with the natural world. In the creative process he experiments with forms and materials, using materials rarely found in painting, like sap, soil, crystal salt, and sugar. Going beyond the two-dimensional, he creates complex compositions that intrigue all of the viewer’s senses.
Artwork
Mother of Pearl, oil, sap, sugar, linen canvas on wooden panel, 2024
Mother of Pearl explores the relationships between animate and inanimate materials, telling the story of how a substance circulates and transforms. The theme of codependency is told through the figure of a small person sprouting from the fleshy part of an oyster. Encompassing the pearl—a symbol of desire and a precious material—this person becomes a metaphor for the deep connection between humans and nature. The shell, a symbol of the sea, rests on a coral reef made of sugar. Although “sweet coral reef” calls to mind something positive, it actually resembles the calcified skeleton of a dead reef, emphasizing the fleeting and transitory. The composition combines the riches of the natural world with reflections upon how people relate to their surrounding world. The materials not only appeal to the sense of sight, but also evoke gustatory and tactile associations. The sheer size of this piece prompts profound reflection on the relationship between human beings and nature and the role of the senses in apprehending art.