Dorota Łapa-Maik “Painting the Soul”

curator Patrycja Ignaczak

9-10 December 2023, Artshow, Kamienica Karskich, Warsaw

CURATORIAL TEXT

“Painting the Soul” is a title taken from Robin Cormack’s famous book exploring the secrets of one of the intrinsic elements of the Byzantine tradition, namely the art of writing icons. Icon, derived from the Greek word “eikón”, is nowadays most often associated with a sacred image, but originally the term was used to describe all kinds of images or depictions.

In creating her large-format dynamic abstractions, Dorota Łapa-Maik seems to draw on the semantic repertoire of both meanings. This does not imply that she positions her paintings as religious art. The reference to the Byzantine artefact points rather to an element of spirituality that is evident in her work. At the same time, it draws a clear parallel between the artist’s work and the modernist tradition dating back to the metaphysical paintings of Kazimierz Malewicz or Marek Rothko.

“Impulses 3”, 2021, acrylic on canvas 60 x 50 cm

“Impulses 2”, 2022, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 50 cm

The intimate series of “Moments” is, in turn, devoted to intimate, artistic meditation, in the process of which the focus on empirical cognition of reality gives way to the epistemic properties of the subconscious. Thus, the impressionistic compositions confront the viewer’s gaze with the permanent split between looking and seeing. When looking, we notice only the sum of the elements in a certain configuration. But when, looking at a painting, we activate our sphere of free associations and latent fantasies, it is only then that we see. It is then that we involuntarily project our own visions, entrusting a part of ourselves to the work.

In her visual practice, Dorota Łapa-Maik consistently opposes the growing contemporary dictates of figurativeness, remaining faithful to her painterly intuition. The affective dynamics of the creative act itself play the most important role for her when working. Behind the studio door, she is invariably accompanied by authenticity and spontaneity, captured in the sweeping brushstrokes which not only entice our gaze, but also encourage us to go on distant internal journeys.

“Moment no 107”, 2022, acrylic on panel 30 x 30 cm

The dialogue between Łapa-Maik’s paintings and icons takes place primarily on the basis of their shared medium function. While the latter mediated the establishment of contact with a deity, Łapa-Maik’s paintings enable introspective contact with oneself, often being a projection mirror or materialisation of ephemeral inner states.

In this sense, the iconostasis on display appears as a place for private contemplation and an attempt to identify one’s own emotions, veiled in everyday concerns and additionally hidden behind a facade of excessive stimuli and the need for constant calculation of the external world.

“Moment no 38”, 2022, acrylic on panel 30 x 30 cm

“Moment no 39”, 2022, acrylic on panel 30 x 30 cm

“Liberty, Love, Delight”, 2023 acrylic on canvas, 140 x 100 cm

Patrycja Ignaczak — student of art history and psychology at the University of Warsaw. Active member of student associations: Studenckie Koło Naukowe at the Institute of Art History at University of Warsaw and Studenckie Koło Naukowe Psychoseksuologii at the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Warsaw. A member of the Culture Committee of the University of Warsaw Students’ Council. A co-organiser of the National Scientific Conference “Z marginesu do centrum – narracje mniejszościowe w naukach humanistycznych i społecznych”, held on 10th June 2023 at the University of Warsaw. Co-author of the catalogue of the collection “FRIENDS, 2022/2023” by the Katarzyna Kozyra Foundation. Active participant in national academic conferences in the humanities. Author of the educational project “@_pretensjonalnie_”, which popularises knowledge of art history. Author of texts on contemporary art and interviews with artists. Her main field of interest is social research on 20th and 21st century art.

Translated by Katarzyna Boch

Photography by Patrycja Ignaczak, Maciej Tyboń