Always building on a vertical rectangle as her base, the artist carefully layers four- and three-sided and sometimes rounded cardboard pieces on top of each other, creating a clear, geometric language of form while simultaneously producing a delicate composition. Occasionally, a torn edge or surface interrupts the smooth edges and reveals a glimpse into the material’s inner workings. Another part of the process is the application of paint – acrylics dominate large areas of the image, accents are set with coloured or lead pencils. In the end, the complexity of the paintings created urges a closer look: again and again, parts of the lower layers are exposed through incisions or small gaps. Sometimes they flash with dazzling colours, while many other details below the surface can only be surmised.
Załuska’s fusion of collage and painting adds another level to the characteristics of both techniques: the originally flat surface of painting expands into space. Collage, on the other hand, gains a further element from the expressive application of paint that contrasts with the geometric severity of the cardboard and paper elements. The precise composition of the collage and the dynamic and spontaneous aesthetics of the painting are combined in Natalia Załuska’s work process and produce a totally unique signature characterized by harmonizing contrasts.
The monochrome style in black and white, characteristic of Załuska, is a thread running through the latest works on cardboard and canvas as well. However, powerful colours placed with a dynamic ductus increasingly enter into dialogue with this style. Edges, lines, planes, material and texture are combined to create an interplay of diverse elements in an abstract narrative.
Selected Works
About the artist
Natalia Załuska constructs her minimalist and reduced paintings by using various materials that she accurately assembles with a range of different techniques, resulting in a play of geometric forms. The fundamental form is always based on a rectangle upon which multilayered monochrome collages develop, made of canvas and cardboard, acrylic and pencil. The artist folds, tears or cuts the materials and arranges them carefully into a structure that opens up new perspectives through its broken surfaces.