Marzena Ziejka
Emotional Memory of Scampering
Solo Exhibition - Cultivator at Bray Grove Farm
Memorial Day, Monday, May 27, 2019, 2-5pm. Please rsvp.
Cultivator is pleased to present Emotional Memory of Scampering, a solo exhibition by artist, Marzena Ziejka at Bray Grove Farm.
Marzena Ziejka creates an installation of process, nostalgia, and hope. She considers the placement of each individual blade of native prairie grass, slowly amassing her sculpture in a meditative homage to her agricultural roots and the passage of time. The installation creates a peaceful environment, reminiscent of Ziejka's childhood and her carefree runs through the fields, free of life's burdens and open to enchantment.
Ziejka writes:
How such a delicate thing as a straw can withstand the great force of wind and various weather? How is it possible it can bear a bird that is heavier than itself without breaking?
I consciously seek a place in my mind that would serve me like an oasis. That would calm my racing thoughts of daily demands, tasks, aspirations, and fears. That would save me from the illusion of necessity to perform and deliver in accordance with my recollections of society and culture I live in. That would reveal in front of my eyes what is truly important and how to get there, how to find it and how to follow it.
My meditation is my work. Treading straw by straw. Adding them one by one to recreate a patch of emotional memory of a place, to form again longed needed feeling.
Running carelessly through vast fields, gulping down early morning air, sun, colors, dew, smell, was one of my preferred before all other activities when I was a child. I tasted my freedom as narrow as my outstretched arms and as wide as my gaze scampering on the fields…
That was the time proceeding my conscious seeking of a place that would bring me peace.
Please rsvp and join us on Monday, May 27th from 2-5pm for art and conversation along with a tour of the farm. Bray Grove Farm is located 70 miles southwest of Chicago in Grundy County. To confirm your attendance and receive directions and parking information, email.
Marzena Ziejka is a multi-media artist of sculpture and assemblages. She is influenced by her family's history of farming and her background as a weaver. They center her interests on respecting nature to sustain our lives and instilling a predilection for raw and tactile qualities found in diverse materials. The sensual and primary qualities in grass, soil, found canvas, horsehair and sticks, allow her to speak the language of nature, while telling stories centered around the feeling of placement and/or displacement.
Ziejka was born in Tarnow, Poland, where she attended the State Art School and later graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow with a Masters in Sociology. She worked for 11 years as a professional weaver of tapestry, then in 2000 Ziejka immigrated to the United States where she worked as a painter, graphic designer, and illustrator. In 2010, she returned to weaving and widened her practice to other techniques involving a wide variety of materials. She resides in Chicago and maintains a studio at Mana Contemporary.
Click on the thumbnails below to see larger images of Marzena Ziejka's art.
