Spotlight: Rising Artist Mark Dzieuwlski

Mark Dziewulski, Layers of Self, mixed media sculpture and paint

By WM Staff, May 2018

Acclaimed British artist and architect Mark Dziewulski launches a London solo exhibition revealing a new series of portraits at Gallery Different, London. The series debuted at the Biennale di Venezia 2017, where he exhibited alongside Julian Schnabel, Jeff Koons and Yoko Ono. Dziewulski has received numerous honours for his architecture, public art and sculptural practice, from a Gold Cross Order of Merit from the Polish Government, to a Letter of Approval from Buckingham Palace. Born in London, he received his MA from Cambridge University, and was a Fulbright scholar at Princeton.

Dziewulski recently shared the unique story behind his painting practice at the New York Times Building, Manhattan (Monday, April 23rd): how caring for his mother, who has Alzheimer’s, inspired him to return to his first love of painting portraits, which capture the dimensions of time and memory. The panel discussion, hosted and moderated by CaringKind, the New York non-profit dedicated to helping those affected by dementia, additionally featured perspectives by Laura Sloan, Rubin Museum of Art, and Meredith Wong, museum educator.

Mark Dziewulski, Layers of Self, mixed media sculpture and paint

Dziewulski refers to his abstract portrait paintings as “painted digitals” that intend to capture his subjects’ life-force, or their ever-changing motions and emotions. Dziewulski’s mother’s diagnosis inspired him to capture the essence of people’s characters, reflecting the positive aspects of what it means to be human and celebrating people’s personalities. The work explores both absence and presence, and the works derive from the ephemeral imaging peculiar to digital systems.

The artworks deconstruct visual references, testing how far interference can go before recognition is lost. This is in some ways, a coming to terms with a complex disease, whose lessons have deeper resonances with philosophical and existential questions. Dr. David Anfam, one of the world’s leading experts on Abstract Expressionism (who was consulted as the go-to expert on the particularly contentious Rothko art forgery case), has likened Dziewulski’s work to the Wallace Stevens poem, “Life is Motion,” drawing on its central themes of movement, memory and time.

Mark Dziewulski, Layers of Self, mixed media sculpture and paint

On the heels of Dziewulski’s solo show at Gallery Different in London’s Fitzrovia, Dziewulski’s work is travelling to art fairs in Daegu, Busan and Seoul with Gallery Palzo.

From April 25th to June 30th, individuals can participate in an online auction and bid on Dziewulski’s artwork to directly benefit CaringKind and the impactful work they do: www.gallerydifferent.co.uk/auction  

Mark Dziewulski: Layers of Self will be at Gallery Different (14 Percy Street, London, W1T 1DR), April 26th to 1st May: www.gallerydifferent.co.uk

To follow Dziewulski and his artwork, visit: www.markdziewulski.com