How do we treasure influence and perspective in art?
Michael Slusakowicz is a Polish-born graduate from Camberwell College of Arts with a First Class degree in BA Painting. His work has since been exhibited internationally and he has partaken in numerous art fairs across the globe. He lives and works in London.
Predominantly creating work on canvas, the artist explores a paranormal mystery in each painting, capturing a split-second moment such as a flicker of light. Through his imagery, Slusakowicz penetrates the often-obscured side of our modern-day contemporary society, searching for the “pure core of humanity”, our wants and desires.
In his still life works, the artist combines two-dimensional ornate backgrounds with brightly hued ceramic pots, playing on the juxtaposition of two and three-dimensionality and perspective. He is interested in exploring colour and mood, changeling the images that appear to him when creating his artworks. Slusakowicz’s brightly coloured patterns and repeated motif’s tap into his “subconscious dream world both familiar and removed from reality,” allowing the works to interact through their tonality and colour, further urging the viewer to create their own interpretation. @michaelslusakowicz
Where were you born and raised? How did it influence your art and your thinking about the world?
I was born in Krakow. With its historical background, Krakow is considered a cultural capitol of Poland. It's a beautiful town and I think it influenced my artistic sensibilities. It's little bit out of time. In Krakow past and present merge in this symbiosis which makes it a very interesting place to be. It also influenced my way of seeing things. It made me very eclectic.
When did you first fall in love with art and realize you wanted to be an artist? For you, what is the importance of the arts?
I have a very vivid memory of contemplating copy of Mona Lisa hanging on a wall at my uncle's house. I was fascinated by it. I was 3 years old.
I also remember reproductions of Flemish Paintings in the classroom of my primary school. I can trace my fascination with Still Life to that very moment. I could't believe that a human hand is capable of such mastery.
While in a primary school, I was influenced by my art teacher. It was also then that I've realised that being an artist is what I want to do for living.
Virginia Woolf said that 'Art is not beauty, art is seeing things differently'. I like that. I think that seeing things differently is our greatest gift. Since everyone can have a very different perspective on things, we should treasure that. Particularly now.
What does your typical day in the studio look like? Walk us through your studio and your most used materials and tools.
Excitement comes with a new idea for a painting. Excitement comes when the painting is completed. Between these two, a typical day in a studio is just hours and hours of applying layers and layers of paint in isolation. It's not fun, it's just a manual work.
My studio is very tidy and I like it that way. A messy environment breaks my concentration. Occasionally I allow myself to get wild and to purposefully mess things around to get a new perspective onto the things. I'm full of contradictions, you see.
What projects are you at work on at the moment? And what themes or ideas are currently driving your work?
I'm developing two new styles of work at the moment. I think that I've reached the point when my work starts to bore me and I feel the need to shake things up a bit. My new still lifes are bolder and I start to introduce human figure to them.
In terms of new ideas I'm looking for the ways to introduce socio-political commentaries into my paintings.
What do you hope people feel when they experience your art? What are you trying to express?
I aim to capture moments in time in a similar way to the movie still. In my paintings there is always a sense of something happening or something is just about to happen. There's a feeling, an emotion, I care about my subjects and I think that viewers can sense that too.
I'm trying to portrait a humanity.
Which artists, past or present, would you like to meet? And why?
It's hard to say. There are so many. But to be honest I'm more interested in how thing are being done, so instead of meeting someone I would prefer to witness their artistic process. I would like to see them in action.
Do you draw inspiration from music, art, or other disciplines?
I get inspired by everything around me. I'm a quiet observer and I absorb things and feeling around. I never know how it will influence my work or my ideas but I'm good at making connections between random things. Music and cinematography definitely inspire my practise.
A great thing about living in my city/town is…
I live in London. Multiculturalism is at its heart. It's fabulous!
Can you describe a project that challenged you creatively or emotionally—and how you worked through it?
For me the challenge is to get the things to the next level. To learn from what I've done so far and to figure out how can I can do it better or to how to improve my skills. Whether it's to take more ambitious topic or to expand the scale, I take it as a natural progression and a part of the development as an artist. Challenge is good. It gets me more ambitious and excited.
Tell us about important teachers/mentors/collaborators in your life.
Definitely my primary school art teacher takes a top spot :) I think she inspired me to be an artist, to be creative and free. I'm in touch with her till this day, and it's a beautiful thing.
Sustainability in the art world is an important issue. Can you share a memory or reflection about the beauty and wonder of the natural world? Does being in nature inspire your art or your process?
For me, being in nature, being outdoor is essential to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It doesn't necessarily inspire me, but it provides me with mental balance and peace of mind. I meditate, cycle, I love to swim and I take one hour walks daily. I like to be active.
AI is changing everything - the way we see the world, creativity, art, our ideas of beauty and the way we communicate with each other and our imaginations. What are your reflections about AI and technology? What is the importance of human art and handmade creative works over industrialized creative practices?
I don't know. It's going to be interesting to see how humanity, and in this case the artists will work with AI in long term. So it's hard to predict the future of fine arts. For now, we can only focus on self expression through art, and will see what comes next. It's hard to imagine that human art will vanish entirely, people want to have something created by human hands. I'm not sure if AI can deliver that. I guess we need to wait and see.
Exploring ideas, art and the creative process connects me to…
my true self.
