Zdzislaw Nitka (1962), ABSTRACTION ALSO HEAD OF THE GIRL, 2017.

oil/canvas, 45 x 60 cm
signed l.g.: Z. Nitka' 17
signed,dated and described on the back: Zdzislaw Nitka | "Abstraction or girl's head" | 2017 | on the stretcher bar, inscription (oil)

"Abstraction or girl's head". - so titled Nitka's painting is a real challenge for the viewer. However, it is neither a visual puzzle nor an optical test. The girl's head will not be seen here despite all efforts and straining of the eyes. So what is it all about? In 1998 Nitka created the polychrome sculpture "Monkey Looks at Abstraction" and this work represents what the title informs us about. Perhaps it is the hypnotic gazing at abstraction that is the right way to perceive it and looking for figurative elements is unnecessary? Of course, we can also, with Picasso's portraits of women in mind, look for a human likeness in the painting Threads - after all, one sees what one wants to see. In his earlier works, the artist even deformed the motif of representation - as befits an expressionist (see "Portrait of a Young Man" from 1988, or "Heads" from 1995/1996), leaving it fully recognizable. Thus, the presented painting can be a reflection on both his art itself (Nitka repeatedly engaged in a dialogue with art history) and the perception of art in general. After all, its colloquial reception is still marked by the need for realism and literalism.