Category: Art
Performance artist Malgosia Stepnik presents her latest body of work at her third solo exhibition, City of Angels, which is the realisation of a fantastical world that questions the distinction between fine and applied art. Oscillating between the worlds of painting, performance, film, photography, decor and fashion the artist's work comes together in an explosion of energy and colour, at the academic fault line that lies somewhere between art and design. In this she is treading a similar trajectory to artists such as Marc Camille Chaimowicz, Chris Ofili and Takashi Mirakami.
Malgosia Stepnik's work draws on the legacy of strong women artists since the 60s, creating semi-autobiographical and confessional works, and sometimes using her own body, as a means of self-therapy and spiritual and emotional release. Malgosia says her work is “about growing and the electricity of the world surrounding me. My art comes as a result of the relationships I have with myself and others.”
In conversation she speaks about the struggles of a difficult childhood in Poland and a strained relationship with her mother. “Poland is a very repressed culture where women are objectified and people don't talk about things.” Her work embodies these struggles, charting a psychological and emotional journey, via an interest in the writings of Jung and contemporary neuroscience. “The latest discoveries confirm,” she says “that our mind – no matter how old we are – can still change.”
City of Angels will be made specifically for the space at 20 Eastcastle Street and will speak directly of Malgosia's relationship with contemporary London, interweaving that with themes and images from her earlier life.
Performance and Private View: Thursday 25 April, 6-9pm
Opening times: 9.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday