Vase 1
Magdalena Karpinska — 2020
Egg tempera and oil on canvas
This work is part of the artist's latest painting series entitled "The Sunshine's gone." The whole series is sentimental, full of longing for an innocent time and a sense of carefreeness. Produced during the isolation period due to the global pandemic, Magdalena focused on plant care and how caring for nature became necessary and vital. A sense of anxiety is also present, as the artist explores how the act of taking care of plants in our private environment can bring relief but is used as a compulsive activity to obtain a temporary sense of calmness in a global chaotic environmental scenario.
In the artist's words: "the flowers have faded a little, but they are still as beautiful as the sunset, which touches me personally. If you look closely, the leaves look like hands, and inside the vase, you can see a river flowing into the distance. This type of landscape is characteristic of Renaissance painting - it has always been used as a background for the foreground, e.g., a portrait. For me, the views of the winding river have always been associated with hope".
78 7/10 × 65 in 200 × 165 cm