Galéria Ľudovíta Fullu, Ružomberok
Curators: Rashida Davison, Zuzana Hrušková
Following a visit to Gallery of Ľudovíta Fullu in November 2017, Globe Gallery are delighted to be working in collaboration with the GĽF - SNG in Ružomberok. Paola Ciarska has documented individual rooms in the gallery, including the private spaces within the living quarters of Ľudovít Fulla. She is creating new paintings featuring an inventory of art works, furniture and personal items from the gallery.
Originally hailing from Poland, Ciarska's family moved to Newcastle upon Tyne in 2005, where she still resides. Her memories of the traditional brightly hued wallpaper in Poland inspired the finely detailed geometric backgrounds of her rich gouache paintings. Using a tiny, one-haired brush, Ciarska paints pocket-sized private worlds packed with the many trinkets of millennial life.
Amongst the personality of each room's interior, Paola places a universal female character sharing their private environment with the world, posing for the camera or using a selfie-stick to broadcast themselves. These women inhabit a world similar to ours where social identity is shaped by Instagram stories and Facebook likes. Ciarska's work addresses the over-sharing of private information we witness on a daily basis turning us into self-proclaimed voyeurs, and how those voyeuristic qualities have become attached to our daily life rituals. It is an exaggerated, humorous commentary on contemporary life and its relationship with wilful self-exposure. The paintings reveal more detail to the eye at each encounter, drawing us in as viewers. By removing the bedroom walls, Ciarska places us on the other side of the camera phone; as these women expose themselves to the world, we are already peeping in. The artist depicts a space, which is simultaneously private and public, highlighting the politics of being looked at.
Ciarska graduated from Newcastle University in the spring of 2016.Since graduating Paola has been invited to show at a number of international art fairs and exhibitions, most recently the Volta Basel Art Fair in June 2018. Interest in her work is increasing at a remarkable pace. She has received a significant number of diverse private commissions for bespoke paintings in the short time since her graduation.
https://www.artforum.com/picks/paola-ciarska-74058
https://candidmagazine.com/paola-ciarskas-czesc-pani-ciarska-pani-ciarska-imt-gallery-london/
https://candidmagazine.com/paola-ciarskas-czesc-pani-ciarska-pani-ciarska-imt-gallery-london/
https://www.artforum.com/picks/paola-ciarska-74058
Paola's recent exhibitions include: Cześć, Pani at IMT Gallery, London (2018); Coming Along Nicely, solo exhibitions at Globe Gallery and Gallagher & Turner, Newcastle (2017); Worried Mother, curated by MILK at Workplace Gallery, Gateshead (2016); Feeling Safer, curated by Mark Jackson at Brooklyn Fireproof, New York (2016); Curious? Festival at Bamburgh House, Newcastle (2016); and BRINK, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead (2012).