Modernisation

• oil on canvas, 2023

“Modernisation” is a series of paintings imitating the characteristic wood strands of an OSB board. Initiated in 2017 as an artistic joke, it has evolved into a peculiar painting manifesto – an attempt to reconcile different painting traditions within a single surface, posing questions about the contemporary role of the painter, the value of their work, and the critical and utilitarian potential of painting. OSB is an inexpensive building material with a wide range of applications. When reproduced on a canvas, however, it loses its usefulness, becoming a fake artifact. It is equally disappointing as a painting motif, especially in a series of paintings. Apart from the fleeting pleasure of seeing through the illusion, the work seems rather unattractive to the viewer – monotonous, banal, easy to overlook. At the same time, the repetitive nature of the series and the manner in which each painting is done testifies to the artist’s meticulous work. Having noticed and unmasked the illusion of the paintings, the viewer is likely to become increasingly attentive to the presence of OSB in surrounding urban fabric, where it camouflages or diverts attention away from places in a state of transition – sites of renovation or construction, urban ruins of various kinds. Once we start paying attention to it, its prevalence makes us question the condition of the reality around us. What if everything is a fake illusion?