Gray Gardens Print

I was born in Poland and my family emigrated to the United States when I was 5 years old, and my background wasn’t the sort that you think leads to art, but I was from a very early age devoted to it. I’m a self-taught artist, and this has been something I’ve dedicated my life and time to for at least 25 years. (I’m 37.) I’ve always struggled with my place in society, I don’t see myself as very outside the norm but I know I feel most comfortable on my own, pursuing my own visions of life and life through art. And the practice of art gave me a feeling of security, a sense of belonging all on my own: losing myself in colors, paint, photos, collage elements, this is my safety and my strength. I’ve always done art very much for myself, for my interest and desires, apart from what others thought. But recently I’ve been included in a few shows and I’m having a solo show early next year. I’m seeing and feeling the interests of showing my work to a broader audience. This is kind of exciting. There is a strong narrative thrust in a lot of my work, though sometimes the stories are really buried, seemingly abstract. There are definitely numerous characters, too, and some recur many times: wise or cynical children, or disappointed, wandering grownups, lost or on some kind of strange voyage. Even the material elements of these works evince a certain “storytelling,” as the layers of paint, collaged newsprint jostle each other, fight for attention, for visibility, for survival. I cultivate a sort of manicured aesthetic grime, as paint spatters and torn papers commingle. I definitely feel very inspired by Berlin Dada, John Heartfieid, Hannah Höch, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Bob Ross, Jim Shaw, and Richard Prince. And graffiti how can you not.