THE WAR NEXT DOOR
27.06.2024 - 18:00 / Galeria Szalom, ul. Józefa 16The shock of the news that there is a war next door eventually fades. In a while, it becomes a white noise screen over a daily background. We continue as we are used to. And can we be blamed? Is an individual able to do anything to prevent the outbreak of military violence? And how much do we really care since we seem to be uninvolved ourselves? In the end, it is forces far more powerful than us that continue to sacrifice people on both sides… In that regard, does it really matter where do we stand… Who will be next? Are we ever safe?
On the occasion of the 33rd Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow and in cooperation with the Shalom Gallery, I would like to invite you to an exhibition of my latest project- THE WAR NEXT DOOR. In these canvases, painted over the past months, we see young adults. The paintings at first glance appear nice and pleasing to the eye. However, a certain uneasiness lurks in them. What is actually at stake here…? The motif of the uniform is prevalent. Does it signify the youths studying, scouting? Or perhaps the militia…? The assembled heroes form a small army. From the faces we see only boys. Because they are mainly the ones who will go to war. The black scarf is a sign of death. The girls are left behind, clumped into an anonymous mass. An army of feet in the same shoes suggests how many of them will be left without fathers, without partners. The wind of history ruffles their hair. Another unhappy generation with a tragically interrupted fate. The blinding orange of the background is meant to allude to explosion, burnout, emptiness. We live in a time of global danger that seems to aggregate. The illusion of security that we have become accustomed to over the past decades is being overturned. Is this just an impression, or are we in for another great war? Or is it just the one next door..?
Miriam Tajcher
Miriam Tajcher was born in 1984 in Warsaw under the name Malgosia Malinowska.
She studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan. She received her Master of Fine Arts degree with honors in 2009.
In 2010, she attended a one-year Art & Design program at Central Saint Martins College in London. A scholarship from The National Academy School in New York brought her to the US, where she completed The Studio Art Intensive Program. Her graduation exhibition, considered the best in 2016, won her a residency at La Napoule Art Foundation in France.
She has participated in many solo and group exhibitions in Europe and overseas. She took part in the popular Creative Mischief series of exhibitions at The National Academy Museum in New York.
Her paintings are in private homes in New York, San Paulo, Canberra, London, Milan, Brussels, Warsaw and more.
Miriam Tajcher describes herself as a painter with an old soul, connected more to the 19th-century atmosphere than the present. An abandoned castle, perhaps in France, with a forgotten garden, would be a perfect place for her studio. But it’s the 21st century… and here she is.
She firmly believes in the traditional technique of oil painting, considering it the only medium that can achieve a certain aesthetic weight. Therefore she devotes herself to perfecting her craft, paying attention to detail and working long hours racing against the light of day. The unique choice of colors, the final touches done with tiny brushes using varnish make her paintings defined and neat.
The main theme of her work is time. Melancholy lurks in all her projects. In an attempt to capture what will eventually fade, she paints portraits with an intense psychological presence. Her inspirations usually come from the past, often uninvited. When she takes on a subject, she yields to it. Her body of work consists of several large series, which goes hand in hand with her approach to exploring a topic in order to refine the result. Everything she does can be linked to an intimate experience.
“I measure my life time with my paintings. They take the lead. I call my style of work Personal Realism. I spend most of my days in the studio. I need time and space to put myself in a meditative state that my creative process demands. I consciously detach myself from the mainstream and turn my gaze to the Old Masters. Balthus continues to be the one who stirs my imagination the most. I romantically long for the days of the Ecole de Paris. And when I feel exhausted from the struggle with modernity, I take myself for a trip to Paris. With art, life is never dull!”
