Matter IV, 2024

"The chaotic, shapelessness of mountains is unified and calmed by their material mass, which reveals to us the earthliness, the 'das Irdische als solches', but this mass cannot be depicted in painting. (...) In life, we judge that something is high through its relation to something that is low; meanwhile, the paradox of mountains lies in the fact that we experience their height most strongly when houses and valleys, greenery, vegetation, and all other points of reference disappear from our sight." Georg Simmel

This large-format painting belongs to the "Mountain Matter" series, a body of work produced for the artist's diploma thesis at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. Inspired by the Tatra Mountains, specifically the Rysy massif and Czarny Staw pod Rysami, the series employs an expressive, fragmented approach to represent the mountains' complex forms and layered structures.
The works are informed by the artist's personal experiences and emotional responses to the mountains, drawing parallels between the climber's mindset and the creative process. By engaging with concepts such as matter, expression, perception, and the creative act, the artist seeks to offer a novel interpretation of the mountains and the ineffable qualities of both climbing and artistic creation.