Gosia Martyniak
Expressing interest in a career in art, I attended Western University and achieved my Bachelor of Fine Arts, specializing in printmaking for its laborious and mechanical charm. I then decided to continue education in hopes of further developing my identity in the art world. The pursuit brought me to the Craft and Design Bachelor program at Sheridan College. I specialized in glass kilnforming, which includes kilncasting, fusing, enamel and silver stain painting.
During my studies of both fine art and craft, I found myself drawn to hybrid processes between the two. My time at the University of Western Ontario cultivated my understanding of complex concepts and visual expression, and my time at Sheridan College equipped me with specialized skills in using glass as a medium. I am very passionate about juxtaposing these two processes, both containing wondrous capacity for contemporary conversation through the material and its mark. Methods I have great interest in exploring include vitreography and integrated glass printing.
My drive as an artist revolves around the idea of a beautiful death that does not equal finality. I employ symbols of myth, art history, and fantastical narratives to fuel the imagery I render, exploring memento mori, urban ruin and post-mortem beauty. Much of my image resources include instances of life existing in cadavers, encompassing the idea that beauty will continue to thrive once we have succumbed to death, and we should be able to take solace from that. I feel that exploring such themes lends to healthy personal growth and acceptance, liberating a person from the fear of death and inviting a celebratory appreciation of life. Much of my work is greatly inspired by Romantic ideals of beauty and the sublime, touching base with the spiritual essence found in nature. It is my intention to place these ideas in modern and contemporary places to bring light on the death that exists in the Anthropocene and highlight the beauty and life that exists in spite of it.