Greta Zakrzewska

Dubious
stoneware

“What’s important is not what is visible but what is hidden…
or in other words, what is revealed to the soul, not what the eyes can see and what can be named.”  -Zdzislaw Beksinski

I am interested in folklore, allegories, religion, the rites and beliefs, as well as superstitions and taboos. The major event that affected me beyond a personal level was living through Chernobyl’s nuclear disaster, “…a disaster which will be with the world for generations as radioactive particles are carried across boundaries by wind and water, flora and fauna. The area surrounding Cherbnobyl will be uninhabitable for 25,000 years.” All of my interests have led me to the exploration of the devastating effect of mankind’s self-destructing nature, hope, and nihilism, the effects and emotions we experience universally.

A lot of my work demonstrates physical and emotional pain and violence. The reason for my armless figures is to express helplessness and hopelessness. I also use the nude figure and facial expressions to portray purity and vulnerability to obscenity. Whether it is possible to decipher a single meaning to my works or not, I myself still wonder at times. I create art to make an impact through the three dimensional figurative shape and form they suggest on our feelings, not necessarily with their content on our intellect. Clay is my medium to provoke the thoughts and feelings of my audience and they may draw their own conclusions and interpretations on my art based on their visual experience. I like to believe in what René Magritte once said, “People who look for symbolic meanings fail to grasp the inherent poetry and mystery of the image.”

© Greta Zakrzewska