Hesitantly, they dragged their heels in lace-up, knee-high, leather boots-hooves. With ASMR sounds in their headphones: low whispers, slurping, swallowing, licking of empty wrappings and dribbling spit. Wet tarmac reflected ad screens. Viscous rain dripped slowly down their latex coat. Out of the corner of their eye, they glanced at their distorted reflection in a puddle. It assumed unexpected shapes through a rainbow sheen from spilled petrol. “Is that still me?”, they anxiously tried to remember their face. A quick glimpse at their smartphone archive. They saw a person split into tens of tiny icons from various times. Their acrylic claws zoomed one picture in and, straight away, it started moving. On the other side of the screen, a hybrid twin character knelt, looking at its reflection in dark water. They were in a humid underground cave, full of stalactites and stalagmites, that smelled of sulfur and other minerals. Its wet walls showed contours of abstract drawings, excerpts of forms. All around, a scattering of pieces of printed fabrics, stacked stones, structures made of fresh twigs and feathers. The person blinked their eyes twice in disbelief. Both hybrids looked at one another, reflected in device screens, the water surface and their hungry eyes.
The UFO Art Gallery exhibition, Quench Thirst with Dew, showcases works by two artists: Agnieszka Szostek and Michael Biber. In spite of their countless personal connections, the exhibition is one of the first opportunities to see one’s output reflected in the other’s. Agnieszka Szostek will exhibit post-body installations, produced in her original ‘skin’ technique; while Michael Biber – his latest, abstract, collage paintings and textiles, combining organic elements with a technological and constructivist brutalism to create a Romantic vision of a post-world. Both artists share a hybridity of forms, an experimental approach, working at a convergence of digital and material art as well as the process of ‘re-analogizing’ – mashing up and deconstructing internet imagery. The artists explore modern cultural production to uncover primal motifs, tribal and universal symbols.
Text: Michalina Sablik
Translation: Piotr Mierzwa
Imprint
| Artist | Agnieszka Szostek & Michael Biber |
| Exhibition | QUENCH THIRST WITH DEW |
| Place / venue | UFO Art Gallery in Kraków |
| Dates | 3 March - 21 April 2023 |
| Curated by | Michalina Sablik |
| Photos | Szymon Sokołowski |
| Index | Agnieszka Szostek kraków Michael Biber Michalina Sablik Piotr Mierzwa poland Szymon Sokołowski UFO Art Gallery |