Magda Moskwa <b>зошит<b>
born 1967
Magda Moskwa has been interested in exploring the body as a vessel of mental energy since her earliest works. Her portraits, referring to early painting, do not depict specific people, but are universal in character, creating a constellation of features borrowed from numerous people. Their images seem removed from reality, but this is an intended effect: according to the artist, a face, just like a colourful jumper or a bow, is a surface that can only be penetrated by the viewer. In 2004, Moskwa abandoned paint and canvas in favour of chalk putty and board. Such a surface allows for relief experiments with the surface and intensifies the appearance of depth. Next to figures frozen in rigor mortis, the artist places fragments of their bodies: fingers, hair, intestines. Finally, studies of skin texture, its imperfections, orifices, and wounds absorb her imagination. Painted in close-up, Moskwa’s almost abstract works not only depict the body, but also explore the carnal potential of the painting itself.
