Szydlowski Gallery

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Via dei Piatti 6, cit.10
20123 Milano MI

MON-SUN 12.00-19.00

ARTISTS:
Katarzyna Wiesiolek
Irma Blank (Collezione Ramo)

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Katarzyna Wiesiolek answers the questions from
Irina Zucca Alessandrelli, curator of the Collezione Ramo

What does drawing mean to you?
Drawing is my way of observing the world in silence. By layering delicate veils of pigment directly onto the paper, I allow my subjects—often landscapes—to emerge gradually, without imposition, in their own rhythm and light. The drawing becomes a living substance, a place of balance and suspension, poised between presence and disappearance. I’m also drawn to the story told by the fragility and suppleness of the paper itself. These qualities invite a continuous, attentive gaze. Every variation, every hesitation is inscribed on the surface, as if the drawing were quietly breathing. Within this gentle tension, each subject finds its place—not as a backdrop, but as a sensitive trace of a moment perceived.

What materials, techniques, and creative processes do you use when working on paper?
I work primarily with pure pigments, without binders, which I apply directly onto the paper using sponges, brushes, or other tools, depending on the desired effect. Some of these pigments are gathered by hand, others are carefully sourced for their ability to evoke emotion—such as exceptionally deep blacks like spinel black. At the heart of my creative process lies the choice of paper. I select it for its capacity to hold the fragility of gesture, the density of tones, and the luminosity of the image. I prepare and thin the surface, offering the pigments space to settle, allowing subtle variations to emerge with delicacy. The paper becomes a true field of dialogue between material and space. From my studio, bathed in natural light, I work through successive touches and deposits, in a slow, often intuitive rhythm. The landscape gradually surfaces, without preliminary drawing—like a form revealing itself through inward observation. It is a process of presence, silence, and withdrawal, where the balance between emptiness and saturation, between trace and erasure, plays a fundamental role.

Why did you choose this work from the Ramo Collection?
This work by Irma Blank captivated me instantly. I was immediately drawn to the originality and subtlety of her approach. Her use of blue—undoubtedly my favorite color—in sharp, graduated tones, paired with her signature graphic gesture, brought a sense of calm, while also evoking a dream, a riddle. It’s a piece that doesn’t offer up all its answers at once, which invites me to question how form and color can communicate sensations beyond language, addressing emotion directly and intimately. Touched as well by her recent passing, I feel deeply honored to be able to create in dialogue with her work—an opportunity to express, in my own way, my admiration.

What value does the dialogue with the Masters of the 20th century hold for you?
This dialogue is inevitable. The masters exert an influence—at times diffuse, yet unmistakable—that I would describe as a kind of “silent memory”. A quiet consciousness that shapes the way we see, for instance, what a landscape can be. Artists such as Giorgio Morandi, Edward Hopper, or Vija Celmins—who gave voice to the simplest forms and the most subtle light—remind me, powerfully, that reality does not need to be spectacular to be profound. Working often within a figurative approach to landscape, I feel closely aligned with this search for the essential—this desire to capture the suspended moment, the fertile emptiness. The masters of the 20th century have passed down a kind of freedom: the freedom to slow down, to look differently, to place trust in the “almost nothing”.
My work does not seek to imitate them, but rather to continue this conversation—between the visible and the invisible, between material and sensation. In this way, the dialogue remains alive and structuring, anchoring me within an artistic lineage that I strive to make resonate in the present.