OBJEKT Gallery
Warsaw, 2025

Aleksandra Zawistowska’s solo exhibition

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“Aleksandra Zawistowska began working with glass after completing her studies at the Warsaw University of Technology, during her time at the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam. Since then, she has been a nomad - moving between Berlin and Kamenický Šenov in the Czech Republic, where she has carved out a path for herself. Faithful until recently to the amorphous material of glass, like a true postmodernist she has begun to expand her practice, reaching for new materials - stone, wood, metal, and new techniques - casting, mirroring, plasma. She now confidently crosses not only geographic borders, but also the boundaries of disciplines and specialisations, balancing on the edge between function and abstraction.

Chiaroscuro (Italian: chiaro – "bright" and scuro – "dark"), the manipulation of light, the play of contrast, introduced into Baroque painting by artists like Caravaggio - became not only the theme of the collection and the exhibition, but also a metaphor for the artist’s practice, focused on bringing things out of the shadows, casting light on subjects that remain blind spots in dominant narratives.

The series of light objects emerged from a deep fascination with the Baroque - its totality, progressiveness, emotional intensity, performativity and experimental spirit, its constant pushing of boundaries. Their architecture evokes the image of an irregular pearl (barocco). Full of drama and dynamic form, the cold metal shapes are complemented by delicate, growing glass jewels. While her recent works created during a residency in the Arctic Circle reflected on growing conflicts over territories and Earth’s resorces, new series - arranged as syncretic journey - raises the question of whether and how we still experience moments of revelation, metaphysical chills, both personal and collective. It touches on a world that is holistic and interconnected - intellectual and spiritual at once.

The exhibition also includes some of her most recognizable works - heavy bowls, goblets, and vases; blown vessels as well as sculptures - all transparent, permeable, shaping sunlight reflections, distorting shadows and reflecting light, dapped into theatrical structures, and installations referencing votive altars.” - Aleksandra Krasny