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| German Zwanik- 'Woman in front of the mirror' |
Tuesday 9th June 2015, Private Art Exhibition,
504 Space Gallery, Old Street: goes down in my personal history as an historic
event. Coming face to face with German Zwanik’s paintings for the first time,
some of which I had previously viewed online, was a pretty awesome experience. Whilst
German’s artwork is impressive from a distance, you can feel the power, the
pain, temptation and loneliness once you observe his work up close (and personal!)
Funnily enough I was particularly struck by the tracks created through
brushwork, an integral part of some pictures.
It was interesting to see paintings created in different
styles- oils and water colour, on canvas and material; especially the way
German presented his pictures. German left the edging to the painting on one
picture of a girl pinned to a washing line above the city- he said he likes the
way the colours look!
Returning to brushwork. Maybe I’m stating the obvious, but
if you think back to your own early efforts where paints or even colouring are
concerned, we often take pains to ensure we do things consistently in an even
direction. I realised that, when looking
at artwork, the brush strokes actually cause your eyes to focus in a specific
way and noticed this particularly in the painting I refer to as ‘Mirror Mirror’
(might I ask- what secrets lie behind the mask?’...) German gives his paintings
very straightforward names leaving the complexity of the works to speak for
themselves whereas I re-title them in line with my poetry. Please see ‘BallerinaOverkill’
The painting ‘Woman in Front of the Mirror,’ sparked a group
discussion where people considered the model’s characteristics. German
describes her as innocent whilst one of the participants viewed her as lonely.
I believe my opinion will unveil itself with the completion of the above poem,
currently in the birthing phase. Whilst the profile of the woman has an almost
naive quality, her mirrored reflection is clearly highly sensual and people
regarded this as her true inner self. Throughout history mirrors have often
been depicted as containing mystical and sometimes evil qualities, rooted in
superstition- so feel free to interpret!
German Zwanik
commentary:
‘This painting is called ‘Woman in Front of the Mirror.’ I
think it’s nice to show a different character: and you can see her and the
other part of her character where she’s wearing a mask. There’s something
powerful and something sensitive. I like the colours as well and find a
kind of mystery in the picture.
Does she
understand herself? ‘Maybe, or maybe she’s surprised. That’s the thing
about this. But I think one side is more powerful and the other more sensitive.’
German has painted a collection of angel pictures and
exhibited one inspired by the model Kim Jean that is clearly not angelic, sporting
a very insolent ‘touch me if you dare’ look, whilst taking drags from her cigarette. I think you can really see the power of the painting and the way the dark angel appears to be feeding off the living model. This is where the true genius lies.
I was
delighted to have the opportunity to speak with Kim and find out how she came
to work with German and why she thought he had depicted her in this manner.
Kim Jean: ‘I have been friends with German for the past
couple of years and absolutely love his work; he’s a brilliant artist. So when
he asked me if I would model for some of his paintings, I happily agreed. He’s
very easy to work with. I felt very comfortable and he’s very professional. His
painting is extraordinary, his results are outstanding. He worked ‘live’ for a
while and from photo's that he took of me in his studio. I think that as German
knows me and the times that I have been through, he really captured
an essence of my life within the painting. Now I live in an eco village in the
woods at Runnymeade and I’ve been there for about three months. During your
life you do grow and change but I suppose there’s always going to be a part of
me that’s a dark angel.
Having had your
previous life experiences captured in this picture, what might you expect from
another picture? I think German’s an artist who looks into people and finds
what suits the painting. I think he’s quite picky about who he works with and
what expressions they can give him. It’s good to have a basis and if you know a
person it can work well. I think I would like him to come up to Runnymeade and
take a look around because he would be quite inspired. It’s the whole thing
with the democracy and freedom. Runnymeade is where the Magna Carter was signed and
there are current contradictions to address with the Queen’s up-coming visit.’
The exhibition included a particularly sombre picture entitled,
‘Boy on the Ledge’ so I asked German for his thoughts:
Boy on the Ledge- German
Zwanik
I think it’s a guy sitting on the ledge
with the city behind and we can feel how life for him is going on. I like to
show this grey behind him. I chose to do it in black and white because I think
the city is usually grey and dirty. I find black and white is a good
way to show sensations.
Do you get a storyline
for your character in your head? I think every single picture is different.
It’s a different person and when I start working on it I start feeling the
character of the person that is in the painting. Inside of me, I know this
character so I try to play in a good way. This for me is the most important
thing in my paintings; the characters, the psychological things and what is
going on inside the person.
Is this set
against the moon or a dusky day? I think it’s the day, the
light of the afternoon.’
I will leave you now to Google German and explore his works
further as these images were taken with my ailing phone and do them no justice!
Jaz McKenzie
Professional
writer/word magician! Contact me and we'll add a little spice to your image. CV’s, Bio’s,
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