Previous work | Paula Carralero Bierzynska

Paradise Lost

In the four-part series of paintings «Paradise Lost,» I examine how satellite perspectives make human control over nature visible. I use nature sketches and satellite imagery as templates. These show monocultures from above: enormous fields where exclusively olive trees, firs, or oil palms are cultivated. The paintings are named after the seasons. While three show clear grids, in the painting «Spring» I speculate about a different relationship between nature and technology. I want to offer viewers what satellite images and painting have in common: from a distance, patterns become visible. From up close, every tree is unique.

Paradise lost, exhibition view, Marburger Kunstverein, 2021. Photo: Christian Stein

Paradise lost, exhibition view, Marburger Kunstverein, 2021. Photo: Christian Stein

Paradise lost, 2020, installation view, Galerie Parterre. Photo: Duo Chen

Paradise lost, 2020, installation view, Galerie Parterre. Photo: Eric Tschernow

Summer, 2020,oil and pigments on reverse of glass, 250 x 125 cm Photo: Eric Tschernow

Autumn, 2020, oil and pigments on reverse of glass, 250 x 125 cm Photo: Eric Tschernow

Winter, 2020, oil and pigments on reverse of glass, 250 x 125 cm Photo: Eric Tschernow

Spring, 2020, oil and pigments on reverse of glass, 250 x 125 cm Photo: Eric Tschernow

You live in interesting times. Paradise Lost. 2020, oil and pigments on reverse of glass, 250 x 125 cm (each), exhibition view Photo: Eric Tschernow

Triptych of Retouching

In this triptych, I examine perspectives and scales through a motif from public space in Spain. I ask myself how we can regain access to this space and attempt to address the physicality and relation of the viewer within the motif. I have transformed several analog sketches of Nuevos Ministerios, a government building complex in Madrid, into a digital 3D model. This 3D model allows me to create various perspectives, particularly aerial views. Based on this digital model, I paint three views behind three acrylic glass plates that adopt the proportions of a smartphone display. Each view moves further away from ground level, so that an aerial perspective ultimately emerges on the third acrylic glass plate. Additionally, I integrate different perspectives into the views through smartphone displays and rearview mirrors.

Triptych of the retouch, 2019, oil and pigments on reverse of acrylic glass, 250 x 125 cm (each one) © Franziska Libuda

Triptych of the retouch, detail

Paradise Lost. 2020, oil and pigments on reverse of glass, 250 x 125 cm (each), exhibition view © Eric Tschernow

Grabowsee Sanatorium

I painted an abandoned sanatorium in northern Brandenburg. The boundary between inside and outside is blurring; vegetation is growing into the interior spaces. In the same way, my personal perception and what I have seen flow into each other. I first painted sketches with watercolors on-site and created small paintings behind glass. These served as studies for the series of reverse glass paintings that were later created in the studio.

Heilstätte Grabowsee, installation view. Photo: Eric Tschernow

2021 Oil and pigments on reverse of glass 125 x 62,5 cm Photo: Eric Tschernow

2021 Oil and pigments on reverse of glass 125 x 62,5 cm Photo: Eric Tschernow

2021 Oil and pigments on reverse of glass 125 x 62,5 cm Photo: Eric Tschernow

2021 Oil and pigments on reverse of glass 125 x 62,5 cm Foto: Eric Tschernow

2021 Oil and pigments on reverse of glass 125 x 62,5 cm Foto: Eric Tschernow

Detail. Foto: Daniel Holz

<<Back to Index