Included amongst the works are the video FIGHT (2000-01), the large-scale photo Flowers (2002) and a small polychrome "gesture sculpture" from the Pasigraphy series (2012).
Zuzanna Janin was born in Warsaw and launched her career in the early 1990s. The collapse of the Iron Curtain and the transition from communism to democracy left a visible impression seen in themes she focuses on in her artistic explorations. These dramatic historical shifts translate into the creation of works that posit the arbitrary nature of social roles, reflecting their dynamic nature that gives agency to the individual nestled within structures of state and society.
In her video FIGHT, Janin employs a subversive use of the "poetics" of boxing to show ceaseless struggle with adversity. The looping movement of punches, falling down, dodging and getting up forces viewers to see Janin facing a heavyweight boxer and come to understand art as a dimension of direct democracy where the artist is literally fighting for tangible change.
The large-scale photo Flowers appears to be a typical bouquet - at first glance. But a closer look reveals its setting as placed beside a grave. The blooms are a locus of vanishing and remembering and evoke the serenity of Dutch still life and the transient nature of life’s stages.
From the Pasigraphy series, Janin’s small polychrome gesture sculpture is made from a birch branch overgrown with polyporus, brightly painted concrete stones with garish stockings pulled over them. The juxtaposition of the materials creates a dynamic contrast that illuminates the symbiotic relationship that exists between urban architecture and rebellious graffiti culture.
Janin has participated in solo and group exhibitions in Istanbul, Sydney, Liverpool, Salzburg, Budapest, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. She attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw from 1980 to 1987. Her work has consistently been included in exhibitions of local_30 Gallery, and her participation in the 2013 ViennaFair is supported by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
The ViennaFair 2013 theme is “The New Contemporary” and it focuses on creations of artists from Central, Eastern, northeastern and southeastern Europe. For the past nine years it has been a critical marketplace for artists to present their works and earn the attention of interested collectors and key figures in the art scene. Relaunched in 2012, this edition features an enormous number of participating galleries, which is testament to sustainable contributions to the development of contemporary art culture. This year’s exhibitions will run from the 10th to the 13th of October.
More information can be found at the websites for ViennaFair and lokal_30 Gallery.
Zuzanna Janin
The Time of Cruel Miracles Is Not Over
lokal_30 Gallery
Wilcza 29A / 12 (5th floor)
00-544 Warszawa
Sources: viennafair.at, lokal30.pl, janin.art.pl, press materials, author: SMG 04/10/2013