Photo from "Body of Work", a solo exhibition of works by Karol Radziszewski
The Residency Unlimited in the US and the Polish Cultural Institute in New York present conceptual artist Karol Radziszewski's video works at the Splatterpool Artspace gallery in Brooklyn, New York
Radziszewski defines himself as a conceptual artist. His non media specific practice is shaped by the manipulation of the viewer to succumb to varying aesthetic constructs devised by the artist to play with the notion of "what constitutes art". One such construct is Radziszewski's use and representation of the male body.
Body of Work is comprised of the two videos Ready 2 Die (2009) and Backstage (2011), which are manifestations of his captive attention to the concept of masculinity in contemporary culture. In both videos Radziszewski makes fantasies come true as he objectifies his subjects through the lens of his camera. The artist captures his models/actors tenderly on camera as he directs them whilst never being intimate with his subjects.
Ready 2 Die is a black and white record of a video performance undertaken in the Museum of Art in Łódź. Its structure recalls the conventions of conceptual art, performance and body art of the 70s. Radziszewski frames what the viewer can see by imposing his point of view and playing with multiple cameras. Questioning the concept of performance art, the artist sums this work as an ambiguous action of conscious voyeurism and "dressing" a naked male body in art.
Filmed inside an art gallery, Backstage is a collaboration between Radziszewski and a group of young men who responded to an ad soliciting their participation. During each casting session, Radziszewski questions his subjects on the topics of shame, exhibitionism and voyeurism. This work not only provides a reexamination of the art historical difference between appearing naked and posing nude but also examines how people rationalise being without clothes in an art venue versus a public space. To break down mental barriers and overcome embarrassment, Radziszewski asks his models to gradually take off their clothes over the course of the session, and to his surprise many are ready to engage willingly for the sake of art.
Karol Radziszewski (b. 1980) lives and works in Warsaw, where he received his MFA from the Academy of Fine Arts in 2004. He works with photography, video, film, installations and creates interdisciplinary projects. His practice extends to magazines, artist books, fashion as well as curatorial concept projects.
Publisher and editor-in-chief of DIK Fagazine, Radziszewski has exhibited at institutions including The National Museum in Warsaw; Zacheta - National Gallery of Art, Warsaw; Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna; Museum Of Contemporary Art Vojvodina, Novi Sad; Museum of Art in Lodz; The National Brukenthal Museum, Sibiu; Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst, Leipzig; CCA Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw; 4 Prague Biennale; New York Photo Festival; Bat-Yam International Biennale of Landscape Urbanism; Biennale of Young Artists, Tallinn; Real Art Ways, Hartford; New Museum, New York; Cobra Museum, Amsterdam.Karol's most recent curatorial concept project is the exhibition "Heal The World" at the Museum of Art in Lodz.
The exhibition is within the framework of the Residency Unlimited /Flux Factory partnership in cooperation with the Polish Cultural Institute, New York. It is supported by thank a-i-r laboratory/CCA Ujazdowski Castle.
For more information about the artist, see his personal webpage: www.karolradziszewski.com.
Body of Work runs from the 18th of November 2011 till the 11th of December 2011 at the Splatterpool Artspace in Brooklyn.
Splatterpool Artspace
138 Bayard St
Brooklyn NY
Tel: 917.412.9220
E-mail: mailbox@splatterpool.com
www.splatterpool.com
Source: Polish Cultural Institute in New York