Gallery - linocuts and digital prints

PENUMBRA - Experimental hybrid artistic prints made entirely in 3D. Series of dye prints in 100x150cm format on high quality paper - solution FineArt Photo White 270g.

Total blackness, like total whiteness, blinds and deprives perception of a reference point. The most interesting play begins to happen between these two areas, where light struggles with darkness. There the penumbra, or twilight, is created. The world of forms created in this way, still characterized by archetypal symbolism, cannot exist without the interaction of the two opposite poles. Achieving perfection in this context means the disappearance of forms and a return to a single, blinding value.

GRAND SILICA - Artistic tribute to polish chemist Jan Czochralski. Cylindrical form is referring to fabricated silicon crystals made with Czochralski's method. Series of dye prints in standard format B1 on high quality paper - solution FineArt Photo White 270g.

Every historical age has its core, distinctive tools. There was fire and stone, bronze and iron, steam and electricity. But for the last couple of decades it has been silicon. Thanks to it, we're witnessing the fastest civilizational growth ever known in human history. These rapid developments, driven by mass production of integrated circuits are partly owed to one man. There would be no semiconductors produced on such a great scale if it wasn’t for him, His name was Jan Czochralski, a Polish chemist born in 1885 in a small town of Kcynia. Although Czochralski is the most cited Polish scientist, his achievements are still not sufficiently recognized.

Czochralski is believed to have invented the method of growing silica monocrystals of unprecedented purity. The cylindrical crystal obtained by this method is then cut into wafers, which every microprocessor is built upon.

A series of prints called Grand Silica is a tribute to this Polish chemist. The main cylindrical form used in all Grand Silica prints naturally refers to silicon crystals grown with Czochralski's method.

The main premise of this series was to harness the power hidden inside the strange metalloid and create unknown, fantasy-like, semi-real worlds. All titles are connotational and suggestive, and are guidelines of sorts to help us find valuable, metaphysical meanings that got lost in our harsh and materialistic world. The choice of Latin in titles stems from its scientific and historical significance.

[MIKRO CYBER] - small graphic forms inspired by '80 and '90 electronics. Series of linocut prints in format 8x8cm on high quality paper - Fabriano Rosaspina 270g.

Some decades ago we used to talk about the atomic or space era that was meant to come. Instead we now experiencing something that has been predicted only by a few futurists - the age of computers. During the last two decades the popularity of miniaturized electronics increased. This has led to perceiving it differently by the society in the 80s and 90s of the last century.

The [MIKRO CYBER] series of prints are connected to those times in terms its style and formality but skipping its commercial context. The choice of linocut, a traditional graphic technique presenting the subject of contemporary electronics, was determined by the maxim that one should not be judge in his own case.

POST-APO - monumental in format artistic diploma made in linocut technique. Inspired by post-apocalyptic underground culture and comic books. Linocuts printed on high quality papers - Fabriano Rosaspina & Palatina

The landscapes in its illustrative character thematically fit into the niche subgenre of science fiction, covering the history of mankind following a catastrophic, often global event. The title 'POST-APO' comes from the English 'post-apocalypse'. Removing human characters from the graphics emphasizes the feeling of passing, which has been shown from the perspective of material objects we have created as a civilization; it being the legacy we will leave behind.

Geometric shapes and blocks contrast with human achievements. This is purely symbolic reference to the truly universal values of mathematical and physical laws. To make them stand out even more, the shapes and surroundings in which they are set have been distorted.

The series was made as part of the Master's diploma and consists of 16 prints in a 100x70cm format. Four of those are separate prints and the rest were used as modules in three graphics with dimensions of 400 x 70 cm.

The choice of linocut as a technique was not a coincidence. Relief printing techniques, which include linocut, require a specific rigor of work on the printing matrix and the printing process itself. Usually, a developed project or sketch is transferred from paper onto a matrix with attention to detail. The "Post-Apo" series differs in this respect; which is not easy to detect for an audience unfamiliar with the specificity of artistic printmaking. In Post-apo, only a very general sketch was transferred onto the matrix, then medium sized and fine details were drawn by hand directly on the matrix. This approach allows for keeping the lines and strokes fresh, which normally only happens on the initial sketch. An extra advantage of this method is the room for improvisation when working with the matrix.

[CYBER] - digital prints inspired by '80 and '90 pop-culture. Series of dye prints in standard format B1 on high quality paper - solution FineArt Photo White 270g.

MINILAB - An open series for experimental linocut small graphic forms. Series of linocut prints in various formats on high quality papers - Fabriano Palatina and Rosaspina.

MINILAB is an open series of small format prints and ex-libris, where print size is a connecting factor. Its chaotic and diverse style stems from the experimental character of prints. They are merely used to improve and hone the artistic skill and can be later used in prints of larger scale.

This does not mean, however, that MINILAB prints are or will be scaled up into an actual large format. Since small graphic forms are governed by their own rules, they eventually require different creative approach.

The result of such pursuits is a collection of prints, varying in style and thematic, which gives an impression to have been made by completely different artists but in fact they are a flexible and chronological collection of forms, and each one of them can be looked at separately as a stand alone image.

RITES - modern, abstract prints made during PhD studies. Series was an experiment with projecting textures made as linocut prints onto 3 dimensional digital models, and than rendering, and printing them as digital prints. Series of prints in standard formats B0, B1, and B2 on high quality papers - Fabriano Pallatina and solution FineArt Photo White.

RANDOM - Mix of different linocuts from the past. Series of linocut prints in various formats on high quality paper - Fabriano Rosaspina.