The story told by the trees, or the work of Maria Komorowska at the Museum of Papermaking

Thanks to cooperation with the outstanding paper art artist Maria Komorowska, the Museum of Papermaking in Duszniki-Zdrój had the honor of opening a new exhibition in the only Paper Art Gallery in Poland. On the Trunk – an unusual exhibition completely inspired by nature and the artist’s fresh look at such a trivial (it might seem) piece of nature as a trunk – the last remnant of a felled tree.

Maria Komorowska, lives and works in Warsaw. She is currently a professor at the University of Ecology and Management in Warsaw at the Faculty of Architecture. However, her work extends well beyond the walls of the capital. And so, for example, she has been connected with the Museum of Papermaking for years, both artistically and emotionally. It is in the historic production hall of the 16th century paper mill that many of her works have been created, and this is because one of her main interests is the technique of handmade paper. She shows up there every year to work intensively on her next works of art. She also created works there that enabled her to defend her PhD.

Maria Komorowska sees something more in the trunks of fallen trees than others. In the words of the artist herself, “Not everyone sees it, because they treat it only as this element of the remnants of something beautiful, they do not always reach this thought that this stump passes into the second sphere of very important, of giving life to the smallest of our brothers, that is, all the worms, ants, fungi, and then it will end with such a cycle as in man, that from dust you rose and to dust you will turn(…)”.

The artist reflects the intersecting convex and concave lines on the trunk with black pastel to make them more expressive, previously unseen. A natural relief is created on the trunk, which inspires the artist’s imagination – she intuitively selects the colors of the pastels used, applies successive layers of shades and writes a new interpretation of the perceived image on the original.

The works we will see in the exhibition have not yet been presented anywhere – that is, we are dealing here with the premiere of approx. 30 works, each of which is worth pausing for a moment and thinking about what the artist wanted to convey through it. By presenting her works Maria Komorowska hopes that the viewer will look at them through her eyes and discover what is invisible at first glance….

The University of Ecology and Management  in Warsaw has assumed honorary patronage of the exhibition.

Maria Komorowska’s exhibition can be visited until July 16 this year.