As the winner of an open call for the Zucker Art Collection, In the following interview Magda speaks about the winning piece that was acquired by the collection, and gives further insights into her artistic practice that is rooted in the sphere of digital images.
You won the open call for the Zucker Art Collection, can you elaborate on the artwork that was acquired by the private collection and the series it is part of?
Magda: The painting which was acquired is part of my recent series. In this particular series I am using different values and juxtapose them with each other. Usually the shapes and colours come from digital inspirations. I use Photoshop for creating images and then repaint them as paintings. This is important as it gives a hand made value to the work. In this series I used to be interested in such concepts as errors or noise and their relation to ways of creating information. I usually work eclectically. I cut and paste different values and then combine them with each other allowing for their co-existence.
I do not have an intention in creating meaning in a sense that is very often recall in a question: what do you want to say? Rather, I prefer to bring confusion and wait to see what will happen next. The works from the series are inspired by chaos of the Internet. This chaos is constantly present, but it is more hobble and because of that it is less scary. In my own way I deal with an amount of information.
I used to combine different aesthetics, also using a language of geometry. I may have unconsciously turned into geometry because I wanted to believe in its universality as a language. Avant - garde artists had turned into it believing that geometry could be a language of spirituality in times of crisis of mimetic art, invention of photography and social changes. Maybe I shall do the same in post digital era.
Magda Wegrzyn, Untitled, Acrylic on canvas, 92 x 65, 2015 Zucker Art Collection
“I will use the funds from the Zucker Collection to support my residency in Australia. ”
What made you want to become an artist?
Art is necessary in society as it gives a voice in a discourse about certain issues. Art can be a powerful tool in talking about painful or unrelieved issues or a tool for healing minds and bodies. Art allows gaining knowledge and gives access to it also. On the other hand, this knowledge very often comes from subjective perspective and personal attitude.
As an artist I am using painting as my primarily medium because I enjoy experiencing moments when I can play and create things, not because I have to, but because they make me creative. I think that art allows accessing knowledge and discovering things that can be accessed or discovered only by usage of artistic methods. Creating can be a pleasure which we sometimes use to forgot. Everything around is more difficult.
Magda Wegrzyn's paintings in one of her exhibitions in Poland
What is next on your artist career calendar?
I am planning to take part in residency organized by Blue Mountain Cultural Center in Australia in February 2016 and I will be having a solo exhibition at the Blue Mountain Cultural Center Art Gallery. I will use the funds from the Zucker Selection to support my project there.
The project which I am going to develop, is connected with early explorers crossing the Blue Mountains. I am interested in the figure of the explorer and travel seen as a creative process. I based my project on a history of three explores who in 1813 crossed the Blue Mountains. Despite the expedition was into the unknown and about crossing the unexplored Blue Mountains the travelers showed the courage and were undeterred, However their exploration unfortunately proved to be harm to other parties. I am intrigued by this duality.
Magda Wegrzyn's exhibition in Australia 2016
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