Wilhelm Sasnal
By appreciating Wilhelm Sasnal’s artworks, is like viewing an artistic documentary; that portrayed the post-communist Poland, intertwining with pop culture icons and influences.
As one of the most successful painters in the world, polish artist, Wilhelm Sasnal is creating works dedicated to his culture. He is inspired by popular culture, history and films.
Also, as a person who experienced the collapse of the Soviet Union; Wilhelm Sasnal is very keen to portrait political topics in his painting. In the interview with Tate, he said he believes that artists do not need to be political but to be active as a citizen. Which instead of having prejudices and positions; Sasnal considers it is essential for one to learn about history and culture, understanding each point of view. He believes art should be something that can reflect the current society and era; celebrating or criticising.
Poland indeed had gone through a dark age during World War Two, and Sasnal’s great-grandma was a victim under Fascism. That in Sasnal’s works, we can often see topics about the Holocaust and politicians’ portraits. Through art, the research and creating process is another method for the artists himself to learn about an event or perspective. Instead of erasing the horrible past, he embraces it as a lesson.
His painting method combines thick paint swirling, spray paint or evenly painted. He often uses spray paint in portraits to increase the stereo effect of the figures. While his portraits are descriptive, the swirling strokes are the most known factors in Sasnal’s artworks that display a different vibe. Even if there are figures in this series of painting, he always drew them vague. The uncertainty and ambiguous is just like we are trying the memorise a memory or looking back, thinking about the past.
At his new exhibition at Sadie Coles HQ, Wilhelm Sasnal has displayed his latest works. Apart from his former painting, he has also painted a new series of city views. Below I have chosen two paintings that I enjoyed.
In this show, Wilhelm Sasnal had displayed many paintings of city views. And this one particular is my favourite. It is an excellent combination of spraying and painting, which gives the picture a sense of depth and also a contemporary touch because of the graffiti vibe.
Peeking out of the fence is also a relatable experience that I believe most people have encountered. The enlargement of the wire fence has made a sense that we spectators have become smaller. And by looking out of the wall, we are excited or wondering, wanting to explore the other side of the painting.
There are several other paintings about modern city scenery as well and have mostly painted some curves over the work. Although there is no explanation about the curves, I consider it as a time line that combine the past to present united. Just as we mentioned, Wilhelm Sasnal’s artworks are like a documentary, it connects the history and interpreted into a contemporary method.
Back to the star of the show, along with Sasnal’s signature swirling paint as the background, he has tried a more minimalistic style in this work. The grey and blue mix gave an industrial and metallic feeling. And again I feel like the lines are connecting different eras. Although I could be incredibly wrong, I consider this work as a representative of the outcome of the past. As life can be struggling, dark sometimes; we can also find a way to bounce out and find a new way to be prosperous.
I believe as life keeps going, Wilhelm Sasnal will not stop creating. He is documenting human history, acting his part as an active citizen. He keeps learning, and hope will inspire people that art could be more than art.
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