June 2012
Aleks Bartosik
“Wear Out Your Eyes”
New Works & Mixed Media
June 1 – July 1, 2012
Statement:
Wear out your eyes is an exhibition of a series of small paintings, accompanied by a drawing performance done by Aleks Bartosik on the opening night. In this body of work, Bartosik focuses on themes of communication, and the challenges, fears and pleasures that come with it, while exploring the tension contained in transitional moments between emotional states. This is further investigated in the drawing event where the artist will literally try to communicate through visual language; through her live drawing. Bartosik will draw and erase on the surfaces of the gallery space continuously transforming the drawing.
** If you’re not afraid of the dark, I would like to take you by the hand and lead you into my pictorial creations that will take you to places you never been and show you things you never seen. **
“I am a visual artist working figuratively in large-scale. My drawing performances simply evolved from working two-dimensionally on paper and literally spilling onto the walls of my studio. From that point on, I was fascinated in creating evolving and transforming duration drawing and erasing events. The first drawing event was done on walls with willow chalk that I filmed being erased. This was made into an animated video showing the traces and transformations of drawings on walls and the interaction with myself, the artist. Later, I started collaborating with my sister; our first drawing event lasted one month and took place at Galerie Art Mûr in Montréal (2005).
I try to understand my subject matter on many levels and through different disciplines, surfaces, and spaces. Drawing events enable me to invite the viewer to wander through the realms and playgrounds that I create as I draw on walls and surfaces of the surrounding spaces that the viewer is in. I dare the viewer to dream and imagine as my drawing installations continually transform: if you are not afraid of the dark, I would like to take you by the hand and lead you into my maze of pictorial creations to take you into places you have never been and show you things you have never seen.”