O wspaniałości malarskiego świata Sonii Zengel

Abstract

The paper On the Grandeur of the Painting World of Sonia Zengel is a synthesis of the output of the artist, who celebrated in 2017 her 30 th anniversary of the artistic activity. The author of the paper focuses on the art techniques used by the painter. They are a starting point for presenting main topics, characteristic cycles and her chosen works. The painting by Sonia Zengel attracts the attention of the spectator with the wide gamut of colors, operating light and the slight, emotional strokes of brush. The elements of reality are readily distinguishable, albeit simplified. All this makes the creativity of the art perceptible for us. We see light-saturated open landscapes, charming city lanes, closed-circle still life and the symbolic scene pieces. The impression of the unity and strength of the art purport is imparted to us. The question arises: How does it all come into existence? Hankering for (to use Czesław Miłosz’s expression) inspecting the inert side of the world appears. For, it is technique that creates the form and the reality is described by it (not only in art). The masterful, expressive, rich in nuances and, first of all, recognizable form as created by Sonia Zengel seems to live all by itself. The art matter, soft and saturated with energy fills the plane of colors of oil paintings and pastel drawings. Its traces are to be found in black and white drawings (made in washed ink) – distinguished by various artistic values. Still, a seducing impression of self-existence of the art medium proves to be relative. The real creator masters the form and gives it the proper meaning, which, in turn, cannot exist without knowledge, skill and the experience in art, as well as the elaborated sense of observation, not to mention the conscious experience of one’s own life. In Sonia Zengel, it is divided amongst the (important) everyday life, the time spent in the atelier, preparing the next exhibition and voyages. The artist creates always, to some extent, her inner, emotional and full of thought-provoking restraint and silence image – interesting all the time.