A handmade and adjustable sculpture made of hemp fiber rope and black caoutchouc—an elastic material obtained from the latex sap of trees—floats in the air and marks a territory. It is Iza Tarasewicz’s (b. 1981, Białystok/Munich) work Arena II presented at gb11. In one iteration, the 50-meter-long line appeared to draw an abstracted wavy, circular shape and hung almost symmetrically from the ceiling. In another presentation, this loop twisted and draped around the room, producing a soft and open architecture. In yet another exhibition, the rope resembled her floor-based installations: messy and erratic. The title indicates many things at once: historically, it was an enclosure where sports took place. It still holds true as a place of recreation and entertainment. An arena also implies a place for political activity and debate. The modularity of the rope resembles the flexibility of the arena, which is affected by the subjectivities inherent within acts of public communication. Often made up of reconfigurable elements, many of the Tarasewicz’s installations at first appear disheveled, yet, after remaining in them for some time, evoke an ethereal rhythm and balance. The repurposing of readily available materials and focusing on their ability to “morph,” as well as the emphasis on rural labor and survival, evolves out of the artist’s personal background; she was born and raised in a small village near Białystok, Poland. For Tarasewicz, materials and objects function as tools for delineating lines of networks between various events and their dimensional characteristics.
self-presentation:
Iza Tarasewicz lives between Białystok, Munich, and various other territories. She is the winner of the “Views 2015-Deutsche Bank Award”, regarded as Poland’s most important art prize, which was presented at Zachęta National Gallery in Warsaw. Recent solo exhibitions include Loop de Loop, Bikini, Lyon, France; Sorry for All The Ups and Downs, Syntax Project, Lisbon, Portugal; Reverse Logistics, BWA Warszawa, Warsaw, Poland (all 2015); By the apparent impossibility of arranging signs, Arsenal Gallery, Białystok, Poland; The Means, the Milieu, Objectif Exhibitions, Antwerp, Belgium; Collaborating Objects Radiating Environments, Kunstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany; Strange Attractors, Polnisches Institut Berlin, Germany (all 2014) and Clinamen, Krolikarnia X. Dunikowski Museum of Sculpture, National Museum, Warsaw, Poland (2013). Recent Group exhibitions include the 32nd Bienal de Sao Paulo 2016; HYPERCONNECTED, Moscow Biennial of Young Art, Moscow, Russia; Contemporary Art from Poland, European Central Bank, Frankfurt, Germany; La Memoria Finalmente, Arte in Polonia 1989-2015, Palazzo Santa Margherita, Modena, Italy; Unfolding Constellations, CCA Toruń, Poland (all 2016); Dust, CCA Zamek Ujazdowkski, Warsaw, Poland; Gardens, Zacheta National Museum, Warsaw, Poland; Procedures for the Head. Polish Art Today, Kunsthalle Bratislava, Slovakia (all 2015); As You Can See: Polish Art Today, Modern Art in Warsaw, Poland (2014).
