Although the forest is her looming subject, Tamara Tarasiewicz doesn’t go into the woods for direct inspiration. Rather, echoing Jackson Pollock, (who never worked directly from nature), she can say, “I am Nature.” She doesn’t paint as theatrically as Pollock, but she composes forcefully--filling a canvas with loops or dense weavings and patches of pigment, often metallic, with just as much abandon.
She often seems to stray as far from a direct representation of the forest as she can. The childlike playfulness of many of her compositions is reminiscent of Jan Dubuffet, and an American might glimpse at times the sheer abundance of nature elements that recalls Charles Burchfield.
She is so prolific it is hard to see a clear line of development. But early paintings from Poland often have a solemn, stained glass feeling, and abstract art-derived panoramas with hills as well as trees succeeded these. Now she is declaring her liberation by moving toward images with a jazzy or Pop feeling. Other frequent, beguiling subjects include The Three Graces, who are often rendered like totemic figures, the kind Pollock evoked when he painted myths. In the context of her body of work, The Three Graces might be woodland spirits. She will also paint subjects that go against the portentousness of the forest. Delicate “Baby’s Breath” is one such standout subject.
But even when Tarasiewicz paints other subjects, the dense forest it is always at her back. In Poland she lived at the edge of a forest and; since 1996, when she and her family moved to the United States, home has been at the edge of another one near Chicago. There are great differences between her life in Poland and in the United States, but the forest, full of surprises and great variety, offers a vital continuation. William Zimmer - New York City
Three Graces, 24x20in, Acrylic on canvas
Three Graces, 58x68in, Acrylic on canvas
Three Graces, 58x68in, Acrylic on canvas
Three Graces, 58x68in, Acrylic on canvas
Three Graces, 58x68in, Acrylic on canvas
Three Graces, 58x68in, Acrylic on canvas
Three Graces, 58x68in, Acrylic on canvas
Three Graces, 58x68in, Acrylic on canvas
Three Graces, 58x68in, Acrylic on canvas
Three Graces, 58x68in, Acrylic on canvas
