Agata Bogacka’s work was the post-transformation reality. Right after graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Bogacka focused on the portrait form, but unlike the members of the Ładnie (Nicely) group, her painting was more individual and egocentric from the beginning. Right after graduation, she took part in an exhibition organized by the Centre for Contemporary Art in Warsaw entitled “Indeed, The Young Ones Are Realists”, and only a year later the same place hosted her first solo exhibition curated by Stach Szabłowski entitled “I’m bleeding”.
The exhibition consisted of 16 works connected with autobiographical motives. Bogacka has portrayed herself and her loved ones in a very naturalistic manner, thus touching upon the problem of alienation and isolation, toxic relationships or female body physiognomy. Feminist themes: maternity, and sisterhood were among the main topics of the artist’s works.
Without any prudishness, she painted women who, while looking at themselves in the mirror, simultaneously observed their vagina, blood dripping from under their thighs or urine dripping. This early period of Bogacka’s works can be described as a kind of self-therapy, a way of dealing with the past and an attempt to break controversial taboos. She became, in a way, the voice of a generation that ostentatiously cries for help and attention.
Over time, her paintings have evolved and become increasingly abstract. Her latest works are based on the configuration of planes with color gradation. In this way, the artist captures the intricacy of relationships between people, and the depth of emotions that unite and sometimes divide loved ones. Until 19 March, you could see the full spectrum of her latest, abstract canvases in Gunia Nowik Gallery in Warsaw. The electrifying pictures, full of contradictory emotions, prove that Bogacka’s art is still changing, evolving and will surprise us many times.
