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Lot Essay
The only portrait by the artist to feature a trio of subjects, Sisters (2014) is a rare example of Ewa Juszkiewicz’s historical appropriations. Shown at the National Art Gallery of China, Beijing, in 2015, it forms part of an enigmatic painterly practice dedicated to reimagining pre-existing portraits of women. The work is based on Group portrait of the three daughters of Julius Johann von Vieth und Gossenau (1773) by the Swiss court painter Anton Graff. In vivid, hyperreal detail, Juszkiewicz brings their garments and postures to life, relishing the textures of fur, chiffon and lace, and amplifying the colours of their dresses to rich tones of orange, crimson, royal blue and gold. Their faces, however, have been erased, replaced by startling insect masks that match the opulent intricacy of their gowns. By transforming her classical subjects into surreal apparitions, Juszkiewicz prompts the viewer to reflect upon the role of women in historical portraiture. Here, the three sisters rebel against uniformity and anonymity, disrupting conventional notions of beauty and inviting new conversations with the past.
Born in Gdańsk, Poland, and now based in Warsaw, Juszkiewicz completed a PhD at the Academy of Fine Arts, Krakow, in 2013. She has risen to prominence over the past decade, with works held in international collections including the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, the Long Museum, Shanghai and the ICA Miami. Begun in 2011, her practice sprung from a close engagement with eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European portraiture during her studies, and the realisation that women were frequently presented as archetypes. ‘Their poses, gestures and facial expressions were very similar and showed no deep emotion or individuality’, she recalls. ‘As a result, I developed a strong need to reference those portraits, and to establish a dialogue with them’ (E. Juszkiewicz, quoted in C. Selvin, ‘Painter Ewa Juszkiewicz Wants to Shatter Conservative Ideas About Beauty’, ARTnews, 25 November 2020). Often selecting little-known works, or canvases that were lost or destroyed, she deliberately obscures her sitters’ identities, replacing their heads with fungi, flowers, insects or drapery. In doing so, she seeks to provoke new associations, liberating her female protagonists from the male gaze and forcing them into bold confrontation with the viewer. They are no longer quiet, pristine specimens, but sensory, metamorphic hybrids, each alive with stories and secrets.
Despite her attempts to disrupt cultural memory, Juszkiewicz nonetheless draws inspiration from her encounters with art history. She cites Dutch painters such as Jan van Eyck, Petrus Christus and Robert Campin as important influences: ‘I am always impressed by their technique, approach to colour, and especially their unbelievable precision in capturing the texture and features of objects and human figures’, she explains (E. Juszkiewicz, ibid.). Equally, the legacies of Surrealism and the Pictures Generation loom large across her practice: Juszkiewicz has spoken of her particular admiration for Cindy Sherman’s History Portraits. Elsewhere, she mines the world of fashion, looking to contemporary designers such as Rei Kawakubo and Iris van Herpen, both of whom explore similar themes of biomorphism and incongruity. In the present work, the clothes that were once markers of status and gender seem to take on a life of their own. No longer bound to the narratives of the past, they transport their subjects away from the brink of faded oblivion, injecting them with newfound colour, texture and freedom.
Born in Gdańsk, Poland, and now based in Warsaw, Juszkiewicz completed a PhD at the Academy of Fine Arts, Krakow, in 2013. She has risen to prominence over the past decade, with works held in international collections including the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, the Long Museum, Shanghai and the ICA Miami. Begun in 2011, her practice sprung from a close engagement with eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European portraiture during her studies, and the realisation that women were frequently presented as archetypes. ‘Their poses, gestures and facial expressions were very similar and showed no deep emotion or individuality’, she recalls. ‘As a result, I developed a strong need to reference those portraits, and to establish a dialogue with them’ (E. Juszkiewicz, quoted in C. Selvin, ‘Painter Ewa Juszkiewicz Wants to Shatter Conservative Ideas About Beauty’, ARTnews, 25 November 2020). Often selecting little-known works, or canvases that were lost or destroyed, she deliberately obscures her sitters’ identities, replacing their heads with fungi, flowers, insects or drapery. In doing so, she seeks to provoke new associations, liberating her female protagonists from the male gaze and forcing them into bold confrontation with the viewer. They are no longer quiet, pristine specimens, but sensory, metamorphic hybrids, each alive with stories and secrets.
Despite her attempts to disrupt cultural memory, Juszkiewicz nonetheless draws inspiration from her encounters with art history. She cites Dutch painters such as Jan van Eyck, Petrus Christus and Robert Campin as important influences: ‘I am always impressed by their technique, approach to colour, and especially their unbelievable precision in capturing the texture and features of objects and human figures’, she explains (E. Juszkiewicz, ibid.). Equally, the legacies of Surrealism and the Pictures Generation loom large across her practice: Juszkiewicz has spoken of her particular admiration for Cindy Sherman’s History Portraits. Elsewhere, she mines the world of fashion, looking to contemporary designers such as Rei Kawakubo and Iris van Herpen, both of whom explore similar themes of biomorphism and incongruity. In the present work, the clothes that were once markers of status and gender seem to take on a life of their own. No longer bound to the narratives of the past, they transport their subjects away from the brink of faded oblivion, injecting them with newfound colour, texture and freedom.