Spring Ironing 2021

Iwo Zaniewski made this pastel painting, Spring Ironing, with dreamy strokes of chalky pigments. The eye drifts around the composition, from the figure standing at the ironing board to the blue checkered tiles and lush window view. I wonder if Zaniewski wanted to capture the feeling of being stuck in time, like one of those long afternoons when you are doing chores but really dreaming of something else. I love how the artist allows the pastel to be itself; the strokes aren’t blended too much, so you see the layering and build-up of colour. It's honest. The overall effect feels intimate, like a half-remembered memory, soft and faded around the edges. It reminds me a bit of Vuillard, of Bonnard. The painting isn’t just about the scene but how it feels to be in it, caught between the mundane and the magical. And isn't that what paintings are for?