tab ur et nr 7 2022

Curator: Lech Jankowski's piece from 2022, titled "tab ur et nr 7", primarily employs a mixed-media approach, and is noted as an example of matter painting. What strikes you right away about it? Editor: Claustrophobia, absolutely. It feels like staring into a stark, concrete box. And that single, lonely little stool only heightens the sense of isolation. Curator: It’s fascinating how such a simple composition can evoke so much feeling. For me, the abstraction makes it less about literal confinement, and more about the potential for restriction—a societal pressure perhaps. The light offers a faint glimmer of hope, yet the stool is there; a constant reminder that this glimmer may never be truly accessed. Editor: I see your point. There is something distinctly un-cozy about the "domestic" setup this stool offers. We might even examine this in light of social norms. We have, for ages, imposed and expected domesticity onto different groups and individual. Perhaps this very lack of comfort is questioning these norms, and calling back ideas of gender or class and social justice. Curator: Precisely! Also, it feels incredibly contemporary, especially within institutional contexts. I imagine some of these institutional, and indeed societal walls, can be shaken simply through introspection: here represented by quiet, yet expressive strokes. Editor: And those ventilation holes at the top, are they life sustaining, or are they just a means of observation for an unseen warden? Is that a trick of the eye? I mean the painting literally embodies my feelings as a creative worker! Curator: Lech Yankowski's abstraction provides the foundation of what can quickly and affectively lead to conversations with various intersections: socio-political and economical considerations that both feed from and transcend any literal interpretation of the work. This layered approach and understanding could be essential in re-assessing value in modern and contemporary contexts. Editor: Absolutely. I find it interesting how our conversation took off from my first impressions and into considerations that extend so far from our initial gut feelings!