Essay by Paulina Olowska
Gestures of Friendship Please Don’t Leave That Painting!
When I think of a ‘Head’ I think of construction and representation; when I think of ‘Wig’ I think of camouflage and complexity. The title Head-Wig (Portrait of an exhibition) has a persona: Lady Hedwig. She is a slightly older lady with a touch of body odor mixed with cheap perfumes and topped with beehive hair. She definitely wears synthetic beige only and most likely comes from the former GDR.
I saw her once sitting in a café as she was turning her head towards the Russian op-art tiles.
She was wearing fake fur and a feather in her hair. Her nose resembled a chin of a young woman. Her eye looked like the girl’s ear. I saw an old lady and a young woman in one. Just like in this famous optical illusion drawing by W. E. Hill.
You read:
‘The two images can never be seen at the same time since the observer must always be attending to one region at a time’ — which is quite boring.
I prefer:
‘Sensory perception is at the core of all seeing: in remembrance we remember that which was once seen, in anticipation we anticipate that which will be seen, in imagining we imagine that which could be seen.’ Head-Wig (Portrait of an exhibition) is about looking and being looked at. It is subjective, less culturally knowledgeable and therefore more speculative.
Constructing a portrait, constructing a portrait of a show, is not only about selecting likeable works; the assembly confronts classic genre portraits with ‘imposed portraits’. What I mean by ‘imposed portraits’ or ‘covert portraits’ are portraits that do hide, reverse or mystify the idea that something or someone is being portrayed.
A Split between Mechanical versus intellectual life
A painting that turns the face into its own medium
The entire painting is a face
The infection of staring.
‘That the kind of ambiguity of a portrait is highly infectious — it is present not only on the level of perception and the material world, but also it pertains to the art itself: one can get the impression that the uncertainties that are put together here arrange themselves into a series, to form a pictorial history of face painting. It is not so much an actual history perhaps, but one representing the logic of the painting act, and its necessary conditions and constitutive moments. A face becomes a landscape. A tree trunk becomes a face.’
Question: Does there arise in the juxtaposition of the works in the exhibition some extra element or motif that invests them with an unplanned ambiguity, suggesting a double meaning?
Is there anything else besides ambiguity that these pieces have in common?
— Indeed, most of the works share a certain unbearable quality — they are irritating. They were made not to charm but to inquire. Some are actually grotesque, ridiculous, and even the most eye-pleasing ones rely on a certain awkwardness. But they all look as if they simply had to be made.
Ps. The selection resulted from gestures of friendship and long-term celebration of my favorite individuals. I admire them all, their outré and dedication, the sincerity in their approach that goes far beyond current fashions.*
*In this text I used notes and fragments of conversations with Magda Szalewicz, Cathy Wilkes, Martin McGeown and Jan Verwoert.
List of Works in Head-Wig (Portrait of an exhibition)
Jarosław Bauć
Ah, this lack of shadow 1997. Oil on canvas. 250 x 140 cm
So I was thinking 1997. Oil on canvas. 260 x 140 cm
In midday shadow 1997. Oil on canvas. 260 x 140 cm
Shadow with a snake 1997. Oil on canvas. 150 x 240 cm. Courtesy of the artist
Simon Ling
Untitled 2008. Oil on canvas. 85 x 65 cm. Courtesy of Claudia Gian Ferrari, Milan
Nina Könnemann
Fusion 2004. DVD, 2.31 mins. Courtesy of the artist
Elka Krajewska
91 seconds 2005
62 seconds 2004
70 second 2004
54:06 seconds 2003
DVD
My Movie Made a Painting: Cat, Donkey, Coyote, Deer, Rabbit (Left) 2009
My Movie Made a Painting: Rabbit, Deer, Coyote, Donkey, Cat (Right) 2009
Archival inkjet on canvas, both 127 x 76 cm. Courtesy of the artist
Ken Okiishi
E.lliotT.: Children of the New Age 2004. DVD, 19.28 mins. Courtesy of the artist
Paulina Olowska
Jadwiga 2009. Oil on canvas. 160 x 135 cm
Nuchtern 2009. Oil on canvas. 170 x 135 cm
Portrait of Artist’s Wife on a Yellow Background 2009. Oil on canvas. 160 x 135 cm
Head-Wig 2009. Oil on canvas. 24 x 30 cm
Double Portrait 2009. Oil on canvas. 24 x 30 cm
Make-up painting 2009. Oil on canvas. 34 x 30 cm
Portrait of Artist’s Wife with a Yellow Background/small 2009. Oil on canvas. 50 x 60 cm
Blush 2009. Oil on canvas. 50 x 60 cm
Self-portrait with a palette 2009. Oil on canvas. 50 x 60 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Cabinet, London
Untitled 2009. Collage on cardboard. 11 parts each. 42 x 30 cm. Collection Reininghaus
Mathilde Rosier
The Chamber 2007. Mixed media. 200 x 210 x 170 cm
Lac 2004. DVD, 5 mins. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Iris Kadel, Karlsruhe, Germany
Cindy Sherman
Untitled 2007/2008. Colour photograph. 152 x 102 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York
Untitled 2007/2008. Colour photograph. 116 x 90 cm. Courtesy of Mr Olivier Diaz
Catherine Sullivan
Misfire#4 (Cinematically Distant) 2005. Colour photograph. 41 x 135 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York
Cathy Wilkes
Group of objects borrowed from different installations, 2004–2009
Pay Attention 2009. Plastic Bowl, porridge, wire, paint, wood, pen, clay object. Dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist, The Modern Institute, Glasgow and Galerie Giti Nourbakhsch, Berlin
Katharina Wulff
Untitled 2006. Oil on canvas. 40 x 45 cm. Collection Reininghaus
Die Untergebene (The Subordinate) 2002. Oil on canvas. 144 5x 109 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Köln/Berlin
Jakub Julian Ziółkowski
Untitled (head sculpture) 2007. Oil on canvas. 68 x 58 cm. Courtesy of the artist
Untitled (two heads) 2005. Oil on canvas. 30 x 36 cm. Collection Muigg, Steyr, Austria
Untitled 2008. Oil on canvas. 40 x 32 cm. Private Collection, New York
List of Artists
Paulina Olowska was born in Gdańsk, Poland, in 1976 and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Gdańsk (1997–2000) and the Art Institute of Chicago (1996–1997). She currently lives and works in Raba Nizna a small town in the South of Poland. Her numerous solo exhibitions include Daad Galerie, Berlin (2008–2009); Attention à la Peinture, Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Köln (2008); Salty Water/What of Salty Water (with Bonnie Camplin), Portikus, Frankfurt (2007); Noël sur le balcon / Hold the Color, Sammlung, Goetz, Munich (2007); Nowa Scena, Metro Pictures Gallery, New York (2007); Hello To You Too, Cabinet, London (2006) and Galeria Foksal, Warsaw (2006). She recently collaborated with Bonnie Camplin on a performance at Tate Modern Usher We (Down There), (2008) in the normally inaccessible oil tanks of the former power station and was selected for a one person exhibition in the Schinkel Pavilion as part of the 5th Berlin Biennale When Things Cast No Shadow. Olowska is the curator of Head-Wig (Portrait of an exhibition).
Jarosław Bauć was born in 1968 in Kraków, Poland and currently lives and works in Gdańsk, Poland, where he teaches at the Academy of Fine Arts. Recent solo exhibitions include Galerie Sandhofer, Austria, Galeria Pionowa, Gdańsk and Galeria Jesionowa, Gdańsk (all 2009).
Simon Ling was born in 1968 in London and currently lives and works in London. He is currently in a group exhibition Art Now: Beating the Bounds, Tate Britain, London and was in Opera Rock, CAPC Bordeaux, France (curated by Alexis Valliant) (both 2009). He has recently had a solo exhibition at greengrassi, London (2008).
Nina Könnemann was born in 1971 in Bonn, Germany and currently lives and works in Berlin. She has had recent solo exhibitions at Toronto Photographers Workshop, Toronto; Portikus, Frankfurt (both 2009); White Space, Zürich, with Stefan Thater (2008) and Grazer Kunstverein (2007).
Elka Krajewska was born in 1967 in Warsaw, Poland and currently lives and works in New York. Recently her work has featured in Late at Tate Britain: Polish Connections, Polish Abstract Film 1933–2004, curated by Lukasz Ronduda (2009) and British Film Institute, Southbank, Documenting Expanded Cinema / Expanded Cinema: The Live Record, screening of BOUND, presentation by Maxa Zoller (2008).
Ken Okiishi was born in 1978 in Ames, Iowa, USA and currently lives and works in New York and Berlin. His work has been presented at Evas Arche und der Feminist, New York; Ludlow 38, New York and Balice Hertling, Paris (all 2008). He has also collaborated with Nick Mauss on a number of exhibitions, including One Season in Hell, Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, New York (2007) and MD72, Berlin (2008).
Mathilde Rosier was born in 1973 in Paris and currently lives and works in Burgundy and Berlin. Recent solo exhibitions include Spectacle du décor, Institut Français, Berlin (2009); Cosumes et accesoires, Galerie Iris Kadel, Karlsruhe (2008) and Réserve des forces hostiles, Galerie Zürcher, Paris (2007).
Cindy Sherman was born 1954 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey and currently lives and works in New York. She has had recent solo exhibitions at Sprüth Magers Gallery, Berlin/London, Metro Pictures, New York and Skarstedt Gallery, New York.
Catherine Sullivan was born in 1968 in Los Angeles and currently lives and works in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Berlin. Her most recent work Triangle of Need was shown in exhibitions at Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; A Foundation, Liverpool; The Vizcaya Museum, Miami; Metro Pictures, New York; Smart Museum of Art, Chicago; Galerie Christian Nagel, Köln and GSK Contemporary, Royal Academy of Arts, London (2007–2008).
Cathy Wilkes was born in 1967 in Belfast and currently lives and works in Glasgow. She has had recent solo exhibitions at Studio Voltaire, London, The Modern Institute, Glasgow (both 2009); Milton Keynes Gallery, Milton Keynes and Galerie Giti Nourbakhsch, Berlin (both 2008).
Katharina Wulff was born in 1968 in Berlin and currently lives and works in Marrakesh and Berlin. She has had a number of solo exhibitions including, Steep Rock Arts, Washington (2009); Oh, Camelot!, Galerie Neu, Berlin (2008); Greene Naftali, New York (2007) and Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (2006).
Jakub Julian Ziółkowski was born in 1980, Zamość, Poland and currently lives and works in Kraków. He has had recent solo exhibitions at Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva (2009); Hauser & Wirth, Zurich (2008) and Demi Volte, F.A.I.T. Gallery, Kraków (2007). His work will also be presented as part of the 2nd Athens Biennale (2009).
References
Le Monde Diplomatique
Piktogram #12
Affect-in effect: Being Touched by The Face (unpublished text for lecture, Berlin, 2009), Jan Verwoert
Celine and Julie Go Boating dir. Jacques Rivette (1974)
Faces dir. John Cassavettes (1968)
Women under the influence dir. John Cassavettes (1974)
Another Way dir. Károly Makk (1982)
'There is so much for viewing that is not available for seeing. A slight figure of lady (Ms) Mehfferowa, a yellow-eye-monster, a young girl, a seamstress with a thimble ...'
Józef Mehoffer, ‘Portrait of Artist’s Wife on Yellow Background’
Credits
Paulina Olowska is an artist and curator of Head-Wig (Portrait of an exhibition).
Exhibition supported by Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Polish Cultural Institute and Goethe Institut.
