Artist: Karolina Jablonska

Esther Schipper presents Jarred Kitchen, a solo exhibition with works by Karolina Jabłońska in the Paris gallery.

The title of Karolina Jabłońska’s exhibition, Jarred Kitchen, holds the double meaning of her new body of work. On the one hand, it refers to the literal use of glass jars for preserving fruits and vegetables, a rustic motif she is continually fascinated by, and returns to often. On the other, jarred refers to a feeling of unease and anxiety, a state of quiet panic beneath the surface. In these new paintings, Jabłońska brings together her memories of an idyllic rural childhood spent in the kitchen with her grandmother with the harsh realities of living off the land, including the violence and endurance required by the women who make it possible.

Karolina Jabłońska’s distinctive painting style employs her own likeness as a stand-in for any human, or more specifically female, figure. In the new body of work, her identifiable features are present, as well as parts of the artist’s body: fingers, hair, eyeballs. In some of the works, the head is severed, served on a platter, gagged; in others, the woman has caught fire, but continues to sit passively, as though she is part of the kitchen furniture. The feeling of being trapped, bottled or choked is pervasive, and in some paintings the figure’s eyes are even closed in submission. In other paintings, however, the eyes are wide open in defiance and stare back at the viewer – a pickled hand points its middle finger out. This opposition, and the humoristic way she represents dark emotional states, is characteristic of Jabłońska’s commentary on how women’s bodies are policed and controlled, not least by their traditional homebound roles.