La Cometa is excited to announce ‘Living Space’, a solo exhibition by Polish-born, Miami-based artist Justyna Kisielewicz.
This exhibition stands as the artist’s most ambitious work to date, confronting the multifaceted legacies of colonialism while delving into the collective quest for freedom.
Kisielewicz’s artistic approach interrogates Polish history against the backdrop of various global oppressions, including the colonial ventures in the Americas and the ongoing climate crisis.
Through her vibrant oil paintings, she intricately weaves together different historical periods, lush landscapes of Florida, emblematic animals, and the recurring presence of two masked figures adorned in high fashion.
Among her colorful repertoire are playful monkeys, intricately embroidered hummingbirds and orchids, sinuous serpents, and a nod to her residence—a stylized alligator.
These symbolic creatures breathe life into her artworks, collectively representing a range of human vices and virtues.
Infused with humor, Kisielewicz’s work features quirky elements such as googly-eyed clouds, crocheted depictions of male anatomy, and lighthearted self-portraits alongside her cherished Pomeranian, Charlie Brown.
This whimsical iconography introduces an element of mischief, providing levity to the otherwise grave subjects she tackles.
In her grandest piece, ‘Lebensraum’, Kisielewicz revisits her childhood memories of epic adventure tales, including classics like ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ and ‘Gulliver’s Travels’.
These narratives predominantly spotlight heroic male figures venturing into fantastical lands filled with exotic beasts and diminutive inhabitants, typically framed as “discovery” tales reinforcing the colonial dichotomy between a “civilized” culture and “primitive” peoples.
Kisielewicz critiques these tales, illustrating the colonizers’ narratives that depicted native populations as naïve, manipulated by a so-called civilizing mission.
Her artwork seeks to overturn these colonialist tropes, enticing viewers to engage critically with the narratives presented to them.
“I use color as bait,” she states, referring to her vivid palette as a means to draw in observers and prompt them to scrutinize her detailed historical vignettes more closely.
While the initial vibrancy captivates, deeper layers of allegory, historical contradictions, and dark humor gradually reveal themselves, challenging viewers to reconsider their understanding of history, colonialism, and consumption.
Kisielewicz’s atemporal canvases serve as reminders that forms of colonial violence are not relics of the past, but rather narratives that shape present and future realities.
By drawing on her family’s complex history, she critiques oppressive structures embedded in race, class, violence, and empire.
In opposition to the traditional colonial historical perspective, her work aligns with postcolonial thought, which calls for the recognition and reinterpretation of history from marginalized viewpoints.
In doing so, Kisielewicz reclaims her narrative authority—a key principle in postcolonial art—inviting us to question and reimagine our past and present.
Cultural theorist Homi K. Bhabha encapsulated this notion in his concept of the “right to narrate,” emphasizing the power to rewrite history from diverse perspectives.
Kisielewicz’s assertion of this power unfolds across her exhibition, highlighting the importance of engaging with and reclaiming agency in the face of oppressive historical narrations.
The exhibition’s title, ‘Living Space’, echoes one of the darkest chapters of modern European history, invoking the Nazi ideology of Lebensraum, which underpinned their violent expansionist agenda in Eastern Europe.
Historian Timothy Snyder elucidates how Nazi leadership envisioned an eastern frontier to be desolated and remolded for German domination, paralleling this with the American concept of Manifest Destiny, which justified territorial expansion at the expense of Native populations.
This ideological foundation propelled processes of ethnic cleansing and the grievous annihilation of Slavic peoples.
Kisielewicz’s move to vibrant Florida—so unlike the drab surroundings of her youth in Soviet-era Warsaw—speaks to her personal reclamation of ‘Living Space’—not as a product of violent conquest, but as an act of artistic healing and empowerment.
Set against a stark historical milieu, ‘Living Space’ embarks on a poignant journey toward freedom, offering a flicker of hope amid troubling realities.
Bhabha reminds us that freedom is distinctly an internal journey towards personal agency, a belief intricately woven through Kisielewicz’s work.
As she deconstructs colonial narratives, her art captures attention through unique iconography—idealized landscapes, luxurious designer elements, and enchanting creatures.
Ultimately, ‘Living Space’ affirms our collective right to remember, question, and envision a new world in light of our complex histories and uncertain futures.
image source from：meer
